The Specialized Criminal Court in the capital Sana’a has issued death sentences against 18 defendants convicted of collaborating and spying for foreign intelligence services, including the American, Saudi, British, and Mossad of the Zionist entity. Two additional defendants received ten-year prison terms.
The rulings were delivered in two separate sessions examining interconnected espionage cells operating under a foreign intelligence network.
In the first session, presided over by Judge Yahya al-Mansour and attended by Prosecutor Sarim al-Din Mufaddal, the court sentenced ten convicted individuals to public execution by firing squad as a punitive and deterrent measure.
Huda Ali Saleh and Abdullah Abdullah Nasher were sentenced to ten years in prison.
In a subsequent session headed by Judge Rabee’ al-Zubair, the court issued seven additional death sentences for similar charges, while acquitting one defendant, Ali Ali Daghshar Mutahhar.
According to the prosecution, the network operated between 2024 and 2025, engaging in espionage for hostile foreign states—primarily Saudi Arabia, Britain, the United States, and the Mossad of the Zionist entity. The defendants allegedly received encrypted communication tools, location-tracking software, and training in covert photography and live-stream transmission.
They were accused of supplying adversaries with sensitive information on state leaders, military and security sites, missile positions, and operational movements. Prosecutors said this intelligence contributed to attacks on multiple military, security, and civilian locations, causing significant casualties and infrastructure damage.
The rulings come amid heightened intelligence activity in Yemen, with authorities reporting intensified covert operations by foreign agencies during the ongoing regional escalation. The case forms part of a broader series of prosecutions as Yemen strengthens its counter-espionage efforts in response to increased external threats.
