Sharif Mobley (; born January 19, 1984)U.S. Public Records Index Vol 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American purported jihadist who was initially arrested in Yemen January 26, 2010 by Yemeni counter-terrorism officers and charged with terrorism. There was a shooting during his arrest in which he was injured and taken to the hospital. During his initial stay at the hospital, two members of the US Government interviewed him. The US Embassy told his family they did not know his whereabouts. During the interviews with officials from the American government, he requested that information be passed on to his family. His family has reportedly not received any updates on his situation. After his recovery from a gun shot to the leg he was released into the custody of the Yemeni prison authorities. All charges of terrorism were dropped but he was not released from prison. Later he was charged with murdering a prison guard during an alleged escape attempt while at a follow-up visit to the hospital for complications from his initial arrest March 7, 2010. Mobley had moved to Yemen in 2008 and was in process getting visa updates from the US Embassy in preparation for returning to the US with his family when he was arrested. His family was able to return to the US shortly after his arrest.
During his incarceration in Yemen, his whereabouts have been in question. While he was in the custody of the normal Yemeni prison authorities, he was not brought to a number of trial dates and his lawyers do not have access to him. He was not present for four trial dates and the Yemeni prison authorities indicated he is no longer in their custody. The Yemeni Attorney General told the trial judge that he did not know where Sharif Mobley was physically located. US Embassy official William Lesh, said that the US Embassy had been in touch with him at an undisclosed location but would not reveal his whereabouts or which law enforcement group had him in their custody nor would the US Embassy assist his lawyers in contacting him.
Mobley is an American citizen who was raised as a Muslim. He stated he had traveled to Yemen for the purpose of studying Arabic and Islam, although U.S. officials initially claimed his purpose was to join a militant group. After his arrest, two US Government agents interviewed him several times and agreed that he was not a terrorist and he had no knowledge or information about activities of interest to the US Government. After charges of terrorism were dropped he was not released from prison. During a follow-up hospital visit for complications from the initial gunshot wound received during his arrest, he allegedly made an escape attempt, during which he allegedly shot two guards, one fatally, and was charged with murder.
Mobley's wife, Nzinga Islam, received a clandestine phone call from Sharif Mobley on September 15, 2014. Mobley has not appeared at a number of pre-trial hearings. It is unknown what happened to him after 2015.
Biography Mobley's parents were both born in the United States. Following his arrest, he was reported to have been of Somali descent, however law enforcement officials and family friends indicated that this information was incorrect. Mobley was raised in Atlantic County, New Jersey. He was a member of his high school wrestling team and practiced karate, earning a black belt, and graduated from high school in 2002. He moved to Philadelphia and then to Newark, Delaware. He is married, and has a daughter. In 2005, he earned $75 as an election day worker for the campaign of Governor Jon Corzine.
Mobley received an Islamic upbringing, and as a child, studied Islamic philosophy and Arabic language classes at Masjid Quba in Philadelphia, according to the imam, Anas Muhaimin. Mobley was described by former high school classmates as having had "strong religious views" at the time, and having become more radical following graduation. A former colleague who went on to do a military tour in Iraq, Roman Castro, said the last time he saw Mobley, in 2006, Mobley yelled at him: "Get the hell away from me, you Muslim killer!"
In Newark, Delaware, an imam, Abdel-Hadi Shehata, said Mobley had lived in the same apartment complex in the area and occasionally attended the Islamic Society of Delaware (ISD). Shehata said Mobley never discussed his political or religious perspectives with him, and would sometimes ask advice about Islamic religious rituals. Before 2008, he organized religious pilgrimages to the Middle East. Umar Hassan-El, assistant imam at, ISD's mosque in Wilmington, Delaware who shared a room with Mobley during the Hajj in 2004, said, "He gave no indication that he would join a group that he's alleged to be a part of right now. I never heard that boy ever talk about shooting anybody, killing anybody." The FBI and another law-enforcement stated that they did not know of any criminal charges against Mobley in the U.S.
Yemen In 2007, Mobley returned to Masjid Quba, attending on occasion and consulting the imam there about his plans to study in Yemen. The imam says he tried to discourage him from going to Yemen, suggesting that he instead go to Egypt or Morocco, but Mobley refused his advice and has not returned to the mosque for three years.
According to one report, Mobley had been in Yemen "for at least a year" prior to the shooting. At first he studied Arabic at a language institute in Sana'a and then Al-Eman University, which is run by Sheikh Abdul Majeed al-Zindani. A later report indicated he had traveled to Yemen two years prior. Two years before the shooting, he moved to Yemen supposedly to study Arabic and Islam, but a law enforcement official said he had traveled overseas for the purpose of joining a terrorist organization. The last time his mother Cynthia spoke to him was in January. A U.S. law enforcement official said the government had been aware of Mobley's possible extremist ties "long before" he was arrested.
Mobley was in contact with Anwar al-Awlaki, the al-Qaeda former imam now based in Yemen who was also in contact with three of the September 11 attacks hijackers, the Christmas Day Bomber, and Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, according to officials from the U.S. and Yemen. He hoped al-Awlaki would become his al Qaeda mentor, according to senior U.S. security officials.
Initial detention Mobley was detained in early March 2010 in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, one of 11 suspected al-Qaeda and al-Shabab affiliated militants; one suspected militant was killed during the raid resulting in the arrests. On Tuesday, March 3 (three days prior to the shooting), Yemeni security forces arrested 11 members of al-Qaeda during a raid on a location frequented by that cell in the Sawad Hansh area of Sana'a. A Yemeni source reported that following a thorough investigation and surveillance, Yemeni security forces raided a residence belonging to the father of one of the wanted militants. During the raid, the suspect's father opened fire on the security forces hitting one of the officers. The suspect's father was killed in the ensuing firefight.
Mobley was initially incorrectly identified in the Yemeni press as being a German citizen of African origin. On the day of the shooting, Mobley was incorrectly identified by News Yemen, a Yemeni English language newspaper, as "Shareef Mubaili, ... a German of Somali origin." CNN Arabic reported that the "German Mubaili" was severely injured during a shootout at the Republican Hospital after stealing a guard's gun. According to a "senior official", he was detained at a high security intelligence prison several months ago while the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, D.C., said he had been detained earlier this month. He is suspected of being a member of the same al-Qaeda branch as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who failed in his attempt to bomb a passenger plane on Christmas Day, 2009.
Missed court dates
No formal charges have been brought against Sharif Mobley or presented to his legal advisors. The initial allegations relating to terrorism were dropped. There are no legal proceedings against him for any previously asserted connections to terrorism or terrorist-related activities, or for any association with any terrorist or alleged terrorists. There are no legal proceedings against him for any association with any terrorist organization or any terrorism-related conspiracies. Mobley is currently alleged to have killed a guard while attempting an escape from a hospital where he was being treated while in custody of the Yemen prison authorities.
His is currently in the custody of the Yemen National Security Bureau (NSB). His physical location is officially unknown. Although consular staff have seen and talked with him they are not able to disclose his location as US State Department Privacy Act rules prohibit disclosing information regarding U.S Citizens Missing Abroad.
A U.S. law called the Privacy Act is designed to protect the privacy rights of U.S. citizens. The Act states that we may not reveal information regarding a U.S. citizen's location, welfare, intentions, or problems to anyone, including the citizen's family members and Congressional representatives, without the written consent of that individual. Although we recognize that this law may occasionally cause distress to concerned families, we must comply with the provisions of the Privacy Act if the individual has asked us not to share information about him or her.
Mobley has not been brought to the following trial dates.
Missed Court Date Additional information April 2, 2014 Due to judicial strike. June 11, 2014 June 25, 2014 Judge Abdelwali al-Shaabani orders Yemen Attorney General Ali Alwash to bring Mobley to court. August 20, 2014 Yemen Attorney General Ali Alwash tells Judge Abdelwali al-Shaabani he is unsure where Mobley is located September 10, 2014
Continued detention Mobley was initially held in the Yemen Central Prison located in Sana'a. Sometime after February 27, 2014 when he was last seen by his lawyers at the Central Prison, he was moved to an unknown location but believed to be a prison run by the Yemen National Security Bureau (NSB) and is now under control of the Yemen Specialized Criminal Court.
On September 26, 2014, Nzinga Islam learned her husband was believed to be in the custody of the Yemen NSB.
Allegations of unsanitary conditions On September 11, 2014, Sharif Mobley made an unapproved/unofficial cellphone call to his wife. During a 10-minute conversation, Mobley described enduring acts of brutality and torture. One of these, was being forced to drink "water out of bottles that had contained urine".
Carlton Benson, a consular officer at the US embassy in Yemen, confirmed that Mobley is held in unsanitary conditions and did have to drink from a "dirty" glass. In an email dated September 29, 2014, he also disclosed that Mobley is not allowed any utensils. Without utensils Mobley would have to eat with his hands or if his hands are shackled, directly with his mouth. Benson requested the Mobley family send a care package to the US State Department for Mobley, with clean cups and plastic utensils. He was uncertain if he could persuade the prison authorities to allow Mobley the plastic utensils. A U.S. consular officer, during a consular visit to Mobley in mid/late September, questioned a guard who confirmed the mistreatment.
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights In October 2014 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, questioned Yemen and the US regarding Mr Mobley's disappearance. Following an investigation that started in May 2014, the OHCHR requested that Yemen ensure that Mr. Mobley would not be detained arbitrarily or subject to unfair legal proceedings.
Yemen