Houthi court sentences 17 to death accused of spying for Israel, West

17 people have been executed by firing squad in Yemen after being accused of espionage by Israel’s and its western allies.

Houthi-run media reported that the Specialized Criminal Court in the capital Sanaa on Saturday morning handed down the sentences in the cases of “espionage cells within a spy network affiliated with American, Israeli, and Saudi intelligence.”

According to Saba and other outlets, the court sentenced the 17 men to execution “to be carried out in a public place as a deterrent,” as well as publishing a list of names.

The total number of trial defendants in this case now stands at 20 while a woman and a man are serving ten years in prison.

According to Houthi-run media, state prosecutors in 2024 and 2025, including the United Kingdom, charged the defendants with “espionage for foreign countries hostile to Yemen.” The defendants may now appeal the sentences.

‘Since allegedly “directed” intelligence officers who were in contact with the accused Yemenis, whose allegedly “directed the targeting of several military, security, and civilian sites and the destruction of extensive infrastructure’.

After Israel’s genocidal war broke out in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis launched attacks on Israel and international maritime transit through the Red Sea in a purported effort to support Palestinians who were under siege. In response, the United States and the UK carried out dozens of deadly joint air strikes across Yemen.

Since last month’s ceasefire agreement in Gaza, the Houthis have stopped attacking.

In addition to killing political leaders and dozens of civilians, Israel has carried out frequent airstrikes against Yemen and its infrastructure, hitting fuel tanks, power plants, and a crucial port city where desperately needed humanitarian aid transits through.

The Houthis’ prime minister was killed in Sanaa in an Israeli airstrike in August, according to the Houthis’ claims in August.

According to a statement released at the time, Ahmed al-Rahawi and “several” other ministers were killed.

In the cases disclosed on Saturday, Houthi authorities, who now control Sanaa and some of Yemen’s northern regions after an armed uprising more than a decade ago, did not mention any connections to the UN or other international organizations.

However, they have increasingly raided UN and NGO offices over the past year, detained dozens of mostly local but also international staff members, and taken all-important equipment.