New Wave of Houthi Death Sentences Target 40 Soldiers, Lawmakers

A court controlled by Iran-backed Houthis sentenced 40 pro-government parliamentarians and military officers to death and confiscated their properties, said judicial sources in Sanaa, Yemen. A Yemeni human rights organization also accused Houthis of committing 240 violations in March 2020.

Abdul Basit Ghazi, a local lawyer, said that Specialized Criminal Court in Sanaa handed down the verdicts on members of the Yemeni Parliament and military officers charged with treason for supporting the internationally recognized government and military operations by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

The Houthi rulings came days after issuing verdicts for the execution of 19 Yemeni military leaders, including Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar.

Houthis had previously sentenced to death 35 deputies in the Yemeni parliament and confiscated their property, and issued hundreds of death sentences against political activists who opposed the Iran-backed group since its coup in September 2014.

Last Sunday, the same court upheld a verdict to execute the leader of the Bahai religious minority in a move reflecting the Iran-backed group’s exploitation of the judiciary in areas under its control.

The verdict supports the confiscation of the properties of Hamed bin Haydarah and the closure and confiscation of the Bahai community's offices in the country.

Since they took over Sanaa by force, Houthi militias have used their courts in Sanaa to issue hundreds of death sentences against their political, military, and sectarian opponents.

Yemeni human rights activists and international organizations accuse the Houthi group of sectarian targeting of opponents in Yemen.

The Information and Rehabilitation Center for Human Rights, a non-governmental civil society organization based in Taiz, demanded the liberation of the judiciary from the grip of Houthi militia in Sanaa.

The center also called on the United Nations and the Security Council to quickly intervene to stop Houthi crimes and any executions, in addition to the systematic group violations of the judiciary in Yemen.