Held in a prison in Sanaa, Marhabi has received harsh treatment from his detainers, with an emergence of reports of torture and deteriorating health conditions.
In the same month, he returned to Yemen due to his difficulties in assimilating in Israel, where he was immediately arrested by Houthi intelligence services.
[6] Additionally, three Muslim men were arrested alongside him, including an airport employee who was accused of permitting the emigrants to board an airplane with the scroll.
[5][8][9] Marhabi suffers from kidney and lung-related health problems, and has lost all of his teeth, allegedly from repeated torture.
[12] The following year in September, a Houthi-controlled appeals court ordered Marhabi's release, ruling that he was innocent and being wrongfully detained.
[10] In March 2021, thirteen Jews from three different families, including Marhabi's mother, made a departure from Sanaa to Cairo, Egypt.
[13] One of the Jews stated: "They gave us a choice between staying in the midst of harassment and keeping Salem a prisoner or leaving and having him released.
Levi Salem Musa Marhabi, a member of Yemen’s Jewish community, has endured four years of wrongful detention.