The Huthis must end the use of the judicial system to stifle freedom of expression, association and religion, by way of handing down harsh sentences, including the death penalty, following grossly unfair trials.
Amnesty International has documented the cases of 66 individuals, the vast majority men, whose proceedings are all ongoing – bar one – and were brought before the Sana’a-based Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) – a court traditionally reserved for terrorism-related cases, between 2015 and 2020. Journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents and members of religious minorities are among those subjected to unfair trial on spurious or trumped-up charges by this court. All of those individuals are being tried on charges of spying, which are mandatorily punishable by death under Yemeni law.