A young Jewish boy was kidnapped in Reida, Yemen on the Sabbath, according to the Yemen Post. The child was reportedly taken hostage in an attempt to force the local Jewish community to forgive a terrorist killer.
The kidnap victim has been identified as eight-year-old Yamin Ameran Al-Nahari.
Sources told the Yemen Post that the kidnapping was linked to the 2008 murder of Moshe Nahari, a Torah teacher and leading member of the Jewish community. Nahari's killer, local Muslim man Abed el-Abdi, called out “Jew, receive the message of Islam” before shooting him.
The kidnappers are hoping to pressure the Jewish community into publicly forgiving Abdi, which may convince the courts to commute his sentence to a fine.
Abdi has been sentenced to death for murdering Nahari. He had previously murdered his wife, but was not jailed after her family agreed to accept financial compensation in lieu of a criminal trial.
The Jewish community of Yemen, already small, has dwindled in recent years as many flee the country due to violence. The rise of Al-Qaeda in the country, in particular, has sparked an interest in aliyah (immigration to Israel).
