Sanaa: The Specialized Criminal Division in the Capital Secretariat issued rulings today upholding verdicts against two defendants convicted of espionage with the enemy, while granting 57 others convicted of assisting the enemy the opportunity to submit their appeals.
According to Yemen News Agency, in the session chaired by the Division Head, Judge Abdullah Al-Najjar, with members Judge Hussein Al-Azi and Judge Mohammed Mufleh, and attended by Prosecution Member Judge Ali Al-Julhi and the Division's Secretary Abdul Salam Abbad, the Division upheld the verdict convicting Youssef Abdullah Mohammed Al-Ya'iri and Saddam Hussein Ahmed Al-Soufi of the crime of assisting the enemy, sentencing each to five years' imprisonment.
In the second case, the Division granted nine defendants-who were part of an espionage cell linked to a spy network operating for the British and Saudi intelligence agencies-the opportunity to submit their appeals at an upcoming session.
During the session, the court heard the defendants' requests in the case, in which the initial ruling sentenced eight of them to death and the ninth to 15 years' imprisonment, along with the confiscation of case-related items.
The Public Prosecution had charged the defendants with espionage during the period from 2021 to 2025 with Saudi Arabia and Britain, through intelligence officers they met in Cairo and Riyadh, with whom they agreed to gather information about leadership figures and military, security, and civilian sites in Sana'a. They also received training in surveillance techniques, encrypted communication, the use of photographic equipment and tracking devices, and were provided with secret applications and communication means, and vehicles equipped for live broadcasting.
The indictment included the defendants monitoring the movements of individuals, planting tracking devices, infiltrating networks, and submitting reports, images, and coordinates through encrypted applications, in exchange for financial sums and gold bars, with the aim of harming the military, political, and economic standing of the Republic of Yemen, in addition to recruiting others to work for foreign intelligence.
In the third session, the Division granted the opportunity to submit appeals to 48 defendants charged with espionage, assisting the enemy, and forming armed gangs for assassinations and bombings in several governorates, under the name "Dhamar Cell."
The Division heard the defendants' requests in the case, in which the initial ruling convicted 44 of them and sentenced them to death, with sentences ranging from two to 15 years' imprisonment for four others, along with the confiscation of seized weapons, explosives, vehicles, communication devices, and computers.
According to the indictment, the convicted individuals' actions resulted in the murder of Dr. Raji Ahmed Abdulmalik Hamid al-Din, the attempted murder of Taha Ahmed Al-Mutawakkil, the injury of Taha Mohammed Ali Qa'tabah with shrapnel while he was in his vehicle, and the attack on Amin Mohammed Ahmed Jumaan with automatic weapon fire. They also participated in a criminal agreement to target senior state leaders and military, security, and civilian figures opposed to the aggression.
Their actions resulted in the murder of Ali Ali Al-Warith, the attempted murder of Colonel Essam Yahya Nasser Al-Ghaili, the murder of Radman Nasser Ghanem Al-Wasabi, in addition to injuring security personnel and citizens during the detonation of explosive devices at security checkpoints, headquarters, and military reinforcements in Dhamar Governorate.