March 30, 2026, San Diego, CA – A lawsuit filed by Anssaf Ali Mayo against former executives and employees of Spear Operations Group, a U.S. private military company, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and attempted extrajudicial killing committed as part of an alleged assassination-for-hire scheme has been unsealed. Ali Mayo, a Yemeni citizen and parliamentarian, is represented by the Center for Justice & Accountability.
“Spear tried to assassinate me ten years ago. I survived but have been forced to live in exile separated from my family,” said Mr. Ali Mayo. “The U.S. government has a responsibility to ensure Spear and its operatives are brought to justice.”
In 2015, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) intervened in the Yemeni civil war as part of a regional coalition, backed by the United States. Under the guise of “counterterrorism” and as part of its intervention in the conflict in Yemen, the UAE targeted groups and individuals opposed to its interests, including Mr. Ali Mayo.
As alleged in the complaint, the UAE hired Spear to assassinate its political opponents as part of its military operations in Yemen. Spear founder and CEO, Defendant Abraham Golan, recruited highly skilled former members of the U.S. military, including former Navy SEAL Defendant Isaac Gilmore and former member of the U.S. Special Forces Defendant Dale Comstock. The UAE allegedly paid Spear $1.5 million a month for these services, with additional bonuses for successful killings. The defendants have all admitted to their roles in the assassination program and the attempt on Ali Mayo’s life.
“Spear recruited individuals trained at the expense of U.S. taxpayers to commit war crimes in Yemen, and used their U.S. training as marketing to land a lucrative contract with the UAE—a known human rights violator” said Ela Matthews, CJA’s Director of Partnerships and Justice Initiatives. On December 29, 2015, the complaint alleges, Spear planted explosive devices at Mr. Ali Mayo’s office building in an attempt to kill him and everyone in the building. Unbeknownst to them, Mr. Ali Mayo had fled minutes before the explosion. Following the assassination attempt, he fled Yemen.
“By failing to sufficiently regulate and prosecute the illegal actions of former U.S. military members, the U.S. is facilitating the sale of unchecked lethality to the highest bidder,” said CJA Legal Director Daniel McLaughlin. “Our government has a duty to regulate how former members of our military use their training and know-how, and a responsibility to hold them accountable when they break the law.”
More information on the case can be found here.
For media enquiries please contact:
Ela Matthews (London, UK): ematthews@cja.org, +447862 728 939
Daniel McLaughlin (California, USA): dmclaughlin@cja.org, +1 (415) 544-0444
About the Center for Justice & Accountability
The Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) is a United States-based international human rights organization dedicated to working with communities impacted by torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious human rights abuses to seek truth, justice, and redress using innovative litigation and transitional justice strategies. CJA has successfully brought cases against defendants such as the commander in charge of the Lutheran Church Massacre in Liberia, the military officer responsible for the assassination of Chilean activist and singer Víctor Jara, and Syria’s Assad regime for its targeted killing of war correspondent Marie Colvin and its campaign of torture in its detention centers.