The Specialized Criminal Court is often used to convict perceived enemies of the state, anti-regime activists and opposition politicians
Houthi court sentences four prisoners to death on charges of “espionage and aiding aggression"
[ Lawyer Abdulmajid Sabra speaks on behalf of prisoners at the Houthi-run Specialized Criminal Court ]
The appeals division of the Houthi-controlled Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) in Sana’a sentenced four detainees to death on Sunday.
The court issued a preliminary verdict sentencing the four detainees to death on charges of “espionage and aiding aggression," according to Abdulmajid Sabra, a lawyer who specializes in monitoring the cases of detainees in Houthi prisons, many of whom have been arbitrarily abducted.
According to Sabra, the four detainees facing the death sentence are Mohammed Hadi Zafer, Ali Mohammed Ali Al-Husseini, Ahmed Daifallah Al-Hamzi and Abdul Majid Abdul Hamid Mohamed Alos.
The Houthis have used the SCC to convict detainees deemed enemies of the state, anti-regime activists and opposition politicians. Established in 1999 to handle crimes against national security, the court was used by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh to prosecute political enemies as well.
Thousands of detainees remain in Houthi prisons, many of which were established after the rebels took over Sana’a in a military coup in 2014. Some detainees have been held in their prisons since that time.
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