Martine Vik Magnussen was final seen alive leaving a nightclub in London’s West Finish with the son of one of many wealthiest businessmen in Yemen.
It was round 2am on 14 March 2008. Martine, a 23-year-old scholar from Oslo, Norway, had been celebrating with buddies after ending her exams at Regent’s Enterprise College, a personal college inside a royal park in northwest London. And there was good purpose to take action – Martine had come high of her class.
The person she left with was no stranger. Farouk Abdulhak, whose father Shaher Abdulhak is alleged to be a billionaire with political connections to a former president in Yemen, was finding out the identical course as her – worldwide enterprise – on the identical college.
Nonetheless, after they had been unable to succeed in her the following day, her buddies reported her lacking to the police.
On the morning of 16 March officers started looking a property that Abdulhak rented at 222 Nice Portland Avenue.
At 10.30am they discovered Martines physique partially buried beneath rubble within the basement. She had been crushed and strangled. Her denims, her watch, her handbang, snakeskin sneakers and Christian Dior earrings had been all lacking. A postmortem gave the reason for dying as compression of the neck.
Abdulhak was an apparent particular person of curiosity to detectives investigating the homicide. Nonetheless Abdulhak had left the UK inside hours of the killing on a airplane to Cairo in Egypt. From there, he travelled to Yemen. He has remained there ever since.
Why? Primarily as a result of the UK doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Yemen, which could have allowed him to be despatched right here for trial for homicide. And, since 2011 at the very least, due to the delicate state of the nation. The president on the time of the homicide, Ali Abdullah Saleh, was mentioned to be a detailed buddy of Shaher Abdulhak. However in 2012 Saleh was faraway from workplace and succeeded by his vice-president. Three years later the Yemeni civil conflict started between the Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed authorities. Saleh was apparently assassinated after switching sides in 2017. The conflict continues to at the present time.
Farouk Abdulhak, who additionally makes use of his mom’s surname Besher, was first publicly named as a suspect in June 2008, three months after the homicide. It has been reported he lived within the capital Sana’a, married a Yemeni girl in 2014 and had at the very least two youngsters.
The authorized proceedings within the UK bought no additional than the inquest at Westminster Coroner’s Courtroom on 24 November 2010, when the coroner recorded a verdict of unintended killing.
Farouk Abdulhak is denying our household any closure by not taking his duty significantly, selecting to not return to the UK the place the crime befell. He appears to be untouched by the straightforward values of respect, dignity and tolerance which can be anticipated in any civilised society. These previous six years he has continued to construct his life within the Yemen displaying no regret or frequent decency.
Petter Magnussen, Martine’s father
Yearly since, detectives have repeated appeals for Farouk Abdulhak to return to the UK to face justice. And whereas there have been stories in 2018 that he had tried to make contact with legal professionals by the Houthi leaders, nothing seems to have come of it.
In March 2022 a girl in her 60s was arrested of suspicion of aiding an offender. DCI Jim Eastwood described the arrest as a “constructive step” and added: “Farouk Abdulhak ought to be conscious that this matter has not, and won’t, go away. My crew and I’ll proceed to hunt justice and use all alternatives accessible to pursue him and produce him again to the UK. His standing as a needed man will stay and we is not going to stop in our efforts to get justice for Martine’s household. I’m interesting to Farouk Abdulhak straight. Come again to the UK. Come again to face justice.”
The next 12 months, Abdulhak offered his rationalization of Martine’s dying for a BBC documentary. In a textual content message he claimed it was “only a intercourse accident gone flawed.” He mentioned that he “may barely piece collectively what occurred” as a result of he was taking cocaine. Abdulhak added: “1: I deeply remorse the unlucky accident that occurred. 2 remorse coming right here ought to have stayed and paid the piper.”
In an additional attraction in 2025, the Metropolitan Police issued a more recent {photograph} of Abdulhak.
My message is on to Farouk Abdulhak.
You’ve got been operating and hiding for 17 years. You participated in a BBC documentary, offering your rationalization as to what occurred. It’s time to develop up and face your tasks to Martine and her household.
Come to the UK now and clarify all to a court docket and jury. Our pursuit of you’ll not cease.
Detective Inspector Jim Barry, talking in 2025
Martine’s father has described her in an announcement as “reliable, heat and thoughtful”. He added: “Not a day goes by the place she isn’t foremost in our ideas. We miss her each hour of day-after-day.”
Name police on 020 8358 0300 or the impartial charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
