Houthi court sentences 4 journalists kidnapped in a public place to death
English - Sunday 29 November 2020 الساعة 07:51 am
Aden, NewsYemen:
A Houthi court ruled the execution of four kidnapped journalists, stipulating that the "execution be carried out in a public place", and the Ministry of Information in the unrecognized militia government granted the right to use the sentence against journalists and prosecute them.
The verdict stipulated the execution of journalists Abd al-Khaliq Omran, Akram Salih Musaad, Harith Saleh Hamid, and Tawfiq Muhammad al-Mansouri, by firing squad in a public place.
The lawyer for the kidnapped journalists, Abdul Majeed Sabra, stated that he received the judgment for the 10 journalists from the Specialized Criminal Prosecution in Sana'a (canceled) after the court refused to hand him a copy.
Sabra confirmed that the Houthi court issued the ruling after preventing the defense team from pleading and without guaranteeing the right to defense for journalists who refused, in the first session, to respond to what the prosecution claims.
He explained that the ruling was issued in the case without giving the defense lawyer an opportunity to defend and refute the evidence, indicating that the court was not impartial in this regard.
Sabra considered that this ruling endangers freedom of expression and the press, so no journalist after it would dare say his opinion because he knows the consequence in advance.
He stressed the need to release the kidnapped journalists, calling on unions and local and international organizations to address the death sentences against the four journalists.
