Aden: Eight Yemeni sailors convicted of smuggling weapons to Al Houthi rebels on board an Iranian ship have been freed thanks to mediation from Oman, a security official said.
The eight were released in Aden on Thursday, two days after authorities released two Iranians held in Sana’a on charges of training rebels, the official said.
They were sentenced in November last year to jail terms ranging between one and 10 years. A ninth defendant remained at large.
Yemeni coast guard, working with US Navy, had intercepted the boat, Jihan 1, in the Arabian Sea in January 2011.
A Yemeni security official said the weapons ship was headed for the Red Sea port of Al Mukha and that the arms were intended for Al Houthi rebels.
Yemen has freed two Iranians said to be members of the Islamic republic’s elite Revolutionary Guards who were accused of links to rebels, according to sources.
The two men were released on Wednesday thanks to mediation from neighbouring Oman, the Yemeni security and Arab diplomatic sources said.
The releases come after the rebels known as Al Houthis, or Ansarullah, seized control of much of the Yemeni capital Sana’a at the weekend following clashes with the Sunni Al Islah (Reform) party backed by the army.
