Houthi court in Yemen sentences 17 ‘spies’ to death

Security forces loyal to Yemen’s Huthi rebels stand guard during an execution at a public square in Sanaa, in September. FILE PIC/AFP

A Houthi-controlled court in Yemen's capital convicted 17 people of spying for foreign governments and sentenced them to death in the latest development in a years-long Houthi crackdown on local staff from foreign agencies. The Specialised Criminal Court in Sanaa handed down the verdict on Saturday, according to the Houthi-run SABA news agency.

The people convicted were part of "espionage cells within a spy network affiliated with the American, Israeli and Saudi intelligence," said the court, which handed down a death sentence by firing squad in public.

The court also sentenced a man and a woman to 10 years in prison, while another defendant was acquitted. Saturday's verdict can be appealed, said Abdulbasit Ghazi, a lawyer representing some of the defendants who were convicted.

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