Houthi Group Arrests 12 People Related To CIA Spy Network In Yemen

Spy illustration. (Pexels/Francesco Ungaro)

JAKARTA - The Houthi group arrested and brought 12 people to court on spying charges for the United States and Israel, local state media reported.

The 12 people were arrested in a move against "American-Israeli spy network," Houthi chief prosecutor in Sanaa, Judge Abdullah Zahra, told news agency Saba, quoted by The National (2/12).

Further explained, the network is claimed to have carried out espionage and sabotage activities "for decades", in collaboration with people directly linked to the CIA.

In a separate case last month, a Houthi-led court sentenced 17 people to death on spying charges for Israel, the US and Saudi Arabia. A court in Sanaa handed down the sentence in a case linked to "espionage cells in a network of spies affiliated with American, Israeli and Saudi intelligence".

At that time, the court stated they would be executed by a firing squad, with the executions to be carried out in public as a form of deterrence and warnings. The 17 people were accused of working with Israeli Mossad agents and trying to recruit Yemeni citizens.

This "corresponding to the targeting of several military, security and civilian locations that resulted in the deaths of dozens of people and widespread infrastructure damage", according to Yemeni authorities. Two other defendants were sentenced to 10 years in prison, while another was released in the same case.

Israel is known to have launched repeated airstrikes over the past two years against targets in Yemen in response to the Houthis' attacks on Israel. The Houthis say they have acted as a form of solidarity with the Palestinians over the war in Gaza.

After the Israeli attack, the Houthis launched a widespread campaign of arrests against those they accused of spying for Israel or the US.

The crackdown intensified after an Israeli attack in August that killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser Al Rahawi.