Sana'a: The Specialized Criminal Division in the Capital today issued significant rulings in cases related to terrorism, murder, and highway robbery, and addressed appeal petitions in espionage cases linked to aiding the enemy.
According to Yemen News Agency, the session was presided over by Division Head Judge Abdullah Al-Najjar, alongside Judges Mohammed Al-Azi and Mohammed Al-Sufyani. In the presence of Prosecution member Judge Ali Al-Julhi and Secretary Abdul Salam Abbad, the Division upheld the initial rulings against a terrorist gang affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The court affirmed the conviction of Naji Mohammed Akasha Younis Al-Khouli, an Egyptian national, for leading an armed gang responsible for heinous crimes, including murder, theft, kidnapping, resisting authorities, and highway robbery, sentencing him to death.
The Division also upheld death sentences for Majed Farhan Ahmed Mohammed and Shamsan Nasser Ali Ahmed, while amending the sentences of Abubakr Farhan Ahmed Mohammed and Sadeq Abdo Ahmed Abdo to 10 years each, recognizing the period already served by Hani Farhan Ahmed Mohammed as sufficient.
In another case concerning a highway robbery resulting in two deaths, the Division affirmed the death sentence for Majd Al-Din Abdullah Hussein and imposed 10-year and 3-year imprisonment terms on other convicts.
In a separate matter, the Division reviewed appeal petitions from 48 defendants charged with espionage, aiding the enemy, and forming armed gangs for assassinations and bombings across several governorates, under the operation name "Dhamar Cell". The prosecution has been given time to respond to the appeals and notify victims' heirs to attend future sessions.
The initial court had sentenced 44 members of the cell to death, imposed imprisonment terms ranging from 2 to 15 years on others, and ordered the confiscation of weapons, explosives, vehicles, communication devices, and computers involved in the case. The prosecution accused the defendants of orchestrating criminal acts resulting in high-profile murders, attempted murders, and injuries to security personnel and civilians in various attacks.