Norwegian journalist held in Yemen talked to family: reports

Norwegian freelance journalist Raymond Lidal, who was arrested in late March in Yemen and accused of spying against the Shiite Houthi group, has had contact with his family recently, media reports said on Saturday.

Lidal's family confirmed to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that they had contact with the 28-year-old man on Thursday, but they did not want to disclose the contents of the conversations.

However, NRK said it later learned that Lidal's condition was okay.

Lidal, who stayed in Yemen on student visa, was arrested in Yemen's capital Sanaa when he photographed the Saudi bombing of the country on March 29, but it is still not known how he is being held, according to Norwegian newspaper Bergens Tidende.

Lidal traveled to Yemen in 2011 to study the Arabic language. He began working in 2012 as a freelance journalist and contributed to multiple Norwegian media outlets, including NRK and Bergens Tidende.

Norwegian Foreign Ministry said earlier that it was familiar with Lidal's case and was following up the matter through the embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, NRK reported.

"We have made it clear to Yemeni authorities that they are fully responsible for the life and health of the Norwegian citizen as long as he is in their custody," Norwegian Foreign Ministry's communications chief Frode Andersen was quoted as saying.

The Houthi group took control of Sanaa in September 2014. The security situation in Yemen has sharply deteriorated since early March when conflicts erupted in several provinces in the country's southern regions.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia started late last month air strikes on Houthi targets in Sanaa and other cities, saying the multinational action is to force the Houthis to retreat from cities they have seized since last year. Endit