Ex-Marine’s 177 days in a Yemen prison--blindfolds, beatings and al-Qaeda cellmates
Haisam Farran, a former Marine and security consultant, was working in Yemen when he was captured by rebels and held for 177 days. He is now home in Dearborn Heights, a suburb of Detroit. (Fabrizio Costantini/Fabrizio Costantini)
DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. — When Haisam Farran flew into Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, on March 19, he quickly spotted the discreet surveillance. The city was in the hands of Houthi rebels, but the National Security Bureau was little changed, and Farran, a retired Marine and former assistant defense attache at the U.S. embassy, was well known to local security officials. He said he regarded the watching eyes as routine, not threatening.
