Gulf | Yemen
Al Houthi supporter sentenced to death in Yemen
Al Murhibi was convicted of leading armed gang and killing two military officers.
- By Nasser Arrabyee, Staff Reporter
- Published: 17:11 June 9, 2008
- Yemeni defendants belonging to a group of Shiite rebels appear behind bars at the state security court in Sana'a.
- Image Credit: EPA
Sana'a: An Al Houthi rebel was sentenced to death and 14 others were handed jail terms ranging between 1-10 years for forming an armed gang to carry out sabotage acts in the Yemeni capital during 2007.
Chaired by the Judge, Muhsen Alwan, the State Security Court passed the death sentence against Jafar Al Murhibi, 25, after being convicted of leading the armed gang and killing two military officers in Sana'a.
"Allah is great, Allah is great, death to America, death to Israel, curses to Jews, and victory to Islam," shouted the defendants from behind bars as the judge pronounced the verdict against them.
"I pledge my master to remain faithful to him for ever, and to remain a bullet in his hand against enemies and traitors," said Jafar Al Murhibi, who was sentenced to death, in an obvious reference to Abdul Malek Al Houthi, who is currently leading battles against government troops in Sa'ada.
Al Murhibi was convicted of murdering two officers from the military intelligence while they were trying to arrest him in his brother's house in Sana'a city early last year.
Among the defendants were two women and a journalist. One of the women, Suda Saleh Fakeera, wife of one of the convicts, was acquitted while the other woman, Mona Ali Zaid was sentenced to four years in prison. One of the defendants, Hashim Hajar had died in prison last year because he was suffering from a liver disease.
On July 4, 2007, the prosecutor accused the group, known officially as the second terrorist cell of Sana'a, of being part of an armed gang carrying out sabotage and criminal acts in Sana'a including assassination of security and military officials. The prosecutor said the group had prepared weapons, explosives and substances for poisoning water in military camps.
Accusation: 'Riyadh aiding troops'
A spokesman for the leader of the Sa'ada armed rebellion, Abdul Malek Al Houthi, accused yesterday Saudi Arabia of supporting the Yemeni government troops to crush the rebellion.
The spokesman, Saleh Habra, called upon Saudi Arabia to be a mediator like Qatar rather than a supporter for one side against the other.
"We would like to see Saudi Arabia be a mediator like Qatar, not a supporter of the government troops," Harbra told reporters over phone yesterday from Sa'ada where battles between rebels and troops are going on for about a month now and journalists are not allowed to go there.
"We have information that Saudi Arabia has given the Yemeni government $55 million (Dh202 million) to ignite the war here in Sa'ada," Habra said.
Habra, who was Al Houthi's representative in the previous failed mediation committees, said he was still in contact with the leaders of the main oppositions parties to make them exercise pressure on the Yemeni government to reach a ceasefire and resume implementation of the Qatari-brokered deal to end the rebellion.
The two conflicting parties have been exchanging accusations over foreign support for the war which has been waged in Sa'ada since 2004. The officials occasionally accused Iran of supporting Al Houthis, who are Shiites, but Iran always denied the accusations.
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