YEMEN: HOUTHIS SENTENCE PRESIDENT HADI TO DEATH

January 2, 2020:

A court in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, controlled by Houthi rebels, on 31 December 2019 sentenced the exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi and other officials to death in absentia.
The court accused Hadi, Prime Minister Muin Abdel Malek and former Foreign Minister Chalid al-Jamani of treason and contacts with Israel, as news agency Saba reported. The three politicians were sentenced in absentia.
The Houthis had taken control of the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen in 2014. The government fled into exile, and important government institutions are now in the southern port city of Aden.
In February, a photo of the then Foreign Minister Al-Jamani with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caused a stir at a Middle East conference in Poland. The court accused Al-Jamani of having “friendly relations” with the “Israeli enemy,” said Saba. President Hadi and Prime Minister Malik are co-conspirators.
Three years ago, a court sentenced Hadi and other officials to death in another case. Since the convicts are outside the Houthis-controlled area, enforcement of the sentence is unlikely.
The Houthis are supported by Iran. An alliance of Arab states is fighting the Houthis under the leadership of Saudi Arabia.