On 12 May 2010, Alkarama sent his case to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention requesting their intervention on behalf of the Yemeni authorities, in order for the Yemeni authorities either release Walid Al-Kainai or at least put him on trial.

Walid Abdellatif Noman Al-Kainai, 29 at the time of his arrest, was a student at Sana'a University and lives in the governorate of Ibb. He was arrested following a trip he had made to Iraq. His family was tormented for several weeks by the Political Security forces that were searching for him. Security forces from Ibb eventually raided his family home at the beginning of March 2005 and searched the premises without a warrant.

As a result of the raid, Walid Al-Kainai's father and three brothers were taken as "hostages" by the Political Security forces and transported to their local headquarters in Ibb. Relatives of the family and neighbors were also detained in the raid. Walid Al-Kainai was finally arrested 15 March 2005 in the nearby city of Ta'izz. His father was released the next day, the others shortly thereafter.

Walid Al-Kainai was initially detained at the Political Security detention center in Ta'izz before being transferred two weeks later to their headquarters in Sana'a. During his first two months detention, he was held incommunicado and his family were left in the dark as to any information concerning his whereabouts or his state of health.

Until late 2006, Walid Al-Kainai was held at Political Security's detention center in Sana'a before being transferred to the Aden central prison. Finally, in late 2008, he was taken to the political security detention center in Ibb, where he remains to this day.

The Yemeni security services practice hostage taking, particularly of family members, as a part of their modus operandi for capturing suspected criminals. Al-Kainai's arrest is part of a growing trend across Yemen.
Between 2006 and 2008, Walid Al-Kainai was held in Aden prison, which is under the authority of the Ministry of Justice and despite the Ministry's responsibilities to put him on trial, he never was never subject to any legal proceedings.

To date, Walid Al-Kainai has never been formally charged, nor has he ever received any notice of the proceedings against him. He has had no access to a lawyer and has been entirely unable to challenge the legality of his detention.

After more than five years of detention, the grounds on which Walid Al-Kainai is being held remain unclear. It has become clear that Walid Al-Kainai's detention is arbitrary and in violation of both Yemeni domestic law and the international human rights laws to which Yemen is party.

The Committee against Torture said in its concluding observations, during its last periodic review of Yemen (CAT/C/YEM/CO/2) on 3 November 2009, that it remained seriously concerned by the failure of the State to offer all detainees, including those placed in security prisons, the fundamental guarantees at the outset of their detention, including the right to immediately contact a lawyer; to have independent medical examination; to notify a close relative of their whereabouts; to be informed of their rights and the charges against them at the time of detention; and to appear before a judge within international standards.