Yemen: 15 years in prison for Yahya al-Houthi, brother of the rebel leader

Yahia al Houthi

SANAA - A court in Sanaa condemned on Saturday to 15 years in prison Yahia al-Houthi, brother of the head of the Zaidi rebels fighting the army in northern Yemen, for "participation in an armed terrorist group".

•    Yahia al-Houthi, a member who lives in exile in Germany, was tried in absentia before a court specializing in terrorism cases.
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     He was also convicted of involvement in "terrorist acts", "attacks against the constitutional powers," "projects to assassinate public figures, including the ambassador of the United States in Sanaa," the spread of "biased information" and "contacts with foreign parties," reported an AFP correspondent.
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     The immunity of Yahya al-Houthi had been closed over four months ago by the House, dominated by the General People Congress (GPC, the ruling party) of which he is nevertheless a member.
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     Yahia is the brother of Abdel Malek al-Huthi, who heads the Zaidi rebellion against which Sanaa leads since August 11 a military offensive, a new episode in a war that has claimed thousands of lives since 2004.
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     Some 190 Zaidis are tried in small groups since April 2009 for their participation in the rebellion and clashes that occurred in 2008 in Bani Hocheich, 10 km north-east of Sanaa.
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     The Zaidiyyah is a branch of Shiism whose most followers live in Yemen, where they are a minority in a mainly Sunni country.
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  Ennaharonline/ M. O.