The prosecutor accused the four men of spying for Iran from 1994 to 2009. “They gave the Iranian side information about, and pictures of, some security installations, military camps, and information about harbours and maritime posts as well as islands, something which damaged the military, political, diplomatic and economic position of Yemen.”

The defendants are also accused of “forming an armed gang to commit criminal acts” and of carrying out the orders of Houthi rebel leaders, who have waged an intermittent war against the government in the north of the country that began in 2004 and lasted until a truce in February.

The prosecutor also accused the four of “receiving funds, supplies and arms from different parties and delivering them to the Houthis”.

Mr Saeed said the defendants, who stood handcuffed in blue uniforms behind bars, had received tens of thousands of dollars from Ali Asghar Mohammed, an Iranian diplomat, and other Iranian officials at the its embassy in Yemen, to deliver to the rebels.

The prosecutor said that anti-tank rockets were sent to the rebels from the Medi port in Hajja, a province north-west of Sana’a, and were delivered by a Somali boat.

He also said the defendants were asked by the Iranian diplomats to report on the situation of the Shiites in Yemen and the possibility of recruiting new members among school and university students. The prosecutor also said that Hameed Akbar, a staff member at the Iranian Embassy in Sana’a, showed the defendants training videos on military techniques, bomb making and talked to them about the operations they were going to carry out including an attack on the ministry of interior as well as the bus that carries Iraqi fighter pilots who work for the Yemen air force. A number of Iraqi pilots and senior military officers escaped to Yemen following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The prosecution demanded execution by firing squad for the defendants.

Following the truce between the government and the rebels, both sides exchanged prisoners. The rebels said in mid-March that they released 178 soldiers and tribal fighters who backed the army. The government said earlier this month that more than 200 rebels were released.

Many of the hundreds of rebel prisoners who remain have been convicted by courts, and some have received death sentences. Twenty-two rebels were sentenced to death in October and November 2009.

The defendants denied the charges, describing the prosecutor as a “liar” and told Judge Muhsein Allwan that they were tortured while in jail.

“All these charges and the confessions [of defendants during the prosecution interrogations] are fabricated by the National Security [state intelligence agency] ... We need the [court] to look into the torture we went through,” Mr al Sharafi told the court.

The second defendant, Mr el Deen, who the prosecutor said had met Mr Asghar around 40 times and received US$130,000 (Dh477,000) to spread Shiism, said he did not recognise the legitimacy of either the trial or the court.

The other three asked for lawyers to defend them.

The judge adjourned the trial for two weeks to give the defence lawyers a chance to study the case and present their defence. The trial is scheduled to resume on April 25.

Yemen has repeatedly said Iran and Shiite communities across the Middle East are supporting the Houthi rebels.

The interior ministry said in October 2009 that five Iranians were captured on board a boat they said illegally entered the country’s territorial waters. 

Tehran denies supporting the rebels and the Yemeni government has not provided any evidence to support the accusation.



malqadhi@thenational.ae