The court claims that the individuals were part of a “cell within a spy network linked to American, Israeli and Saudi intelligence services.” They are also accused of having collaborated with British intelligence.
A woman and a man were also sentenced to ten years in prison, while a third was acquitted. The sentences can be appealed, according to a lawyer representing some of the defendants.
Since the start of the civil war in 2014, the Iran-backed Shiite Islamist Houthi movement, which controls parts of Yemen and the capital Sanaa, has arrested thousands of people. In the past two years, dozens of people working for the United Nations, international aid organizations and embassies have been captured and accused of espionage, without any evidence being presented. The accusations are denied by the United Nations.
