Yemen Monitor / Sana’a / Exclusive:
The Specialized Criminal Court in the capital Sana’a, which is under Houthi control, began on Sunday the first sessions of the trial of 21 defendants accused of forming a “spy network” allegedly working for a “joint operations room” involving U.S., Israeli (Mossad), and Saudi intelligence services, headquartered in Saudi Arabia, according to the Houthi-run Saba News Agency.
This comes one day after the Houthis announced the arrest of a “spy cell” and broadcast confessions on the group’s media outlets, claiming the suspects had spied to help target leadership meetings in U.S. and Israeli strikes over the past two years. The confessions are widely believed to have been extracted under torture.
It is unclear whether those arrested are the same individuals now standing trial. The defendants are accused of “collaborating with countries hostile to the Republic of Yemen,” namely Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, through intelligence officers from those countries, as well as the Israeli Mossad.
According to the indictment, these intelligence officers allegedly managed the defendants’ operations, providing them with “encrypted communication tools, applications for geolocation, and training on using hidden cameras and connecting them to live-streaming programs.”
The prosecution claims the defendants supplied those foreign agencies with “information about state sites and leadership movements,” as well as “secrets related to political, military, and security affairs.” They are also accused of “inciting and assisting in recruiting citizens,” planting surveillance cameras, and providing intelligence that allegedly led to “the targeting of several military, security, and civilian sites.”
The charges further include destroying evidence related to crimes “affecting state security and defense secrets,” identifying locations of meetings and residences of leaders, military manufacturing and storage sites, and information about missiles, their sources, and launch locations.
