Specialized Criminal Court in Hadhramaut Issues Death Sentences for 14 Convicts in Banditry Cases and Continues Trial of 57 “Al-Qaeda” Suspects
Yemen Monitor/Hadhramaut:
The Specialized Criminal Court in Hadhramaut (eastern Yemen) issued death sentences today, Tuesday, for 14 convicts in crimes of “joining an armed gang, banditry (highway robbery), and murder.”
It also sentenced six defendants to 24 years in prison for kidnapping crimes and dismissed them from their military jobs, and sentenced five convicts to ten years in prison for charges of harming the “national economy.”
The death sentences come one day after the Criminal Court held its second session yesterday, Monday, in the trial of 57 individuals on charges of belonging to the Al-Qaeda organization. They were charged with crimes including premeditated murder, targeting security forces, planting explosive devices, and targeting economic installations in the governorates of Shabwah and Abyan, with the aim of destabilizing security and causing a collapse in the national economy.
Local sources reported that the trial of the Al-Qaeda defendants is being conducted in absentia for 49 individuals, while 6 are being tried in person. During the session, video recordings showing the participation of some of the accused in these operations were presented, and the court also heard testimonies from a number of the wounded and the victims’ next of kin.
It is worth noting that the Specialized Criminal Court had issued death sentences last October for six Iranian defendants after convicting them of smuggling more than three tons of the narcotics hashish and shabu (crystal meth).
