Houthi-Controlled ‘Penal Court’ Retries Journalist Al-Miyahi as His Sentence Nears End

Yemen Monitor / Newsroom:

The Houthi-controlled Specialized Penal Court in Sana’a has reopened the trial of journalist Mohammed Al-Miyahi a year after his initial verdict was issued and four months before the end of his prison sentence.

Ammar Yassin, Al-Miyahi’s lawyer, said in a post that he was surprised by a summons for the journalist to attend an appeal session before the Appellate Division of the Penal Court. Upon attendance, the sessions were postponed due to the absence of one of the division members.

He explained that the Penal Prosecution Office submitted an appeal against the initial verdict, which had ruled in its favor. He described this as a bizarre step by the prosecution, which legally has no right to appeal a conviction verdict since it was issued in its favor.

The lawyer expressed surprise at these procedures, considering them an abuse of power against an unarmed writer through flawed legal sophistry. He pointed out that since the ruling was issued against the journalist Al-Miyahi, the appeal is pointless as he is close to completing his sentence, with only four months remaining.

Journalist Mohammed Al-Miyahi was abducted by the Houthis on September 20, 2024, and forcibly disappeared for several months before being brought before the Specialized Penal Court, which issued an 18-month prison sentence against him in May 2025.

While his family awaits his release in a few months upon the completion of his sentence, lawyers suggest that this twisted appeal of his trial foreshadows an attempt to circumvent the case and keep him in Houthi prisons.