Top StoryWorld

Yemen’s Houthis execute 9 over official’s killing

Yemen

Yemen’s Houthi rebels executed nine people they said were involved in the killing of a rebel official three years ago. The execution took place by firing squad and was held in public, early in the morning in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa. The Associated Press has the story:

The Houthis charged the nine of spying for the Saudi-led coalition, which has been waging war against the rebels for years

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels executed on Saturday nine people they said were involvement in the killing of a senior rebel official in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition more than three years ago.

Police troopers stand guard next to men convicted of involvement in the killing of a senior Houthi official Saleh al-Samad before their execution at Tahrir Square in Sanaa, Yemen Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they have executed nine people for their alleged involvement in the killing of a senior Houthi official in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition more than three years ago.(AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

The execution took place by firing squad and was held in public, early in the morning in the rebel-held capital of Sanaa. The Iranian-backed Houthis distributed photos apparently showing the killings. Hundreds of people attended the execution, mostly Houthis and their supporters.

The executions took place despite repeated calls by rights groups and lawyers to stop the killings and retry the suspects. They said the trial, held in a rebel-controlled court where the nine were convicted and sentenced to death, was flawed.

The nine were among more than 60 people the Houthis accused of involvement in the targeted killing of Saleh al-Samad in April 2018. Former President Donald Trump was also accused, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press. Also accused were top Western, Israeli and Gulf Arab officials.

The Houthis charged the nine of spying for the Saudi-led coalition, which has been waging war against the rebels for years in an effort to bring back Yemen’s internationally recognized government to power.

FILE – In this Aug. 6, 2016 file photo shows Saleh al-Samad, Head the political council of Houthis movement in Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi rebels Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, said they executed nine people for their alleged involvement in the killing of a senior Houthi official in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition more than three years ago. Al-Samad, who held the post of president in the Houthi-backed political body, was killed in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the coastal city of Hodeida. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File)

Al-Samad, who held the post of president in the Houthi-backed political body, was killed along with six of his companions in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition in the coastal city of Hodeida.

The nine, including a 17-year-old boy, were arrested months after al-Samad’s killing. They had been forcefully disappeared for months in undisclosed places where they suffered inhuman treatment, according to Abdel-Majeed Sabra, a Yemeni lawyer representing one of the people executed.

The executions were also broadcast on big screens in Sanaa’s Tahrir Square. The executions and their display caused outrage across the country, including among the relatives of the nine and also in Sanaa, where people refrain from criticizing the rebels for fear of reprisals.

“What I would say. I can’t believe what has happened. This is madness and a crime,” Abdel-Rahman Noah, a brother of one of the executed, told The Associated Press.

Another relative said she did not expect the Houthis to go through with the executions. “We were shocked. … We thought that they were just threatening,” she said tearfully, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals from the rebels.

The rebels did not respond to requests for comment.

The nine wore sky blue prison garb with their hands bound behind their backs. Masked guards led them to an open area and forced them to lie down on their stomachs. Another officer with a rifle shot them to death in their backs.

Police troopers stand guard next to men convicted of involvement in the killing of a senior Houthi official Saleh al-Samad before their execution at Tahrir Square in Sanaa, Yemen Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. Yemen’s Houthi rebels Saturday said they executed nine people for their alleged involvement in the killing of a senior Houthi official in an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition more than three years ago. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

One of the executed appeared scared while awaiting his turn to be shot; an armed Houthi was seen holding him tight, perhaps so that he would not fall.

Several rights groups, including the U.S.-based American Center for Justice, which follows human rights abuses in Yemen, had called Friday for the U.N. to intervene to stop the executions. The groups said the trial had “included flagrant violations of fair trial guarantees and depriving individuals of providing sufficient defenses.”

Yemen has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014, when the Houthis swept across much of the north and seized Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war the following year on the side of the government.

The stalemated conflict has killed more than 130,000 people and spawned the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Magdy reported from on board the Geo Barents in the Mediterranean Sea.

By AHMED AL-HAJ and SAMY MAGDY

For more world news

Previous Article
France’s Notre Dame cathedral secured at last
Next Article
Heavy police presence as protesters arrive for DC rally

How useful was this article?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this article.

Latest News

Menu