SANAA, Yemen -- A court under Yemen's Houthi rebels on Saturday sentenced 17 people to death for allegedly spying on behalf of Israel, the United States and Saudi Arabia, rebel media reported.
The Houthis' Saba news agency said the court in the capital Sanaa convicted the 17 individuals in cases linked to "espionage cells within a spy network affiliated with US, Israeli and Saudi intelligence services".
They were sentenced to be executed by firing squad.
Lawyer Abdulbasit Ghazi, representing some of the defendants, said on Facebook that they could appeal the sentence.
The accusations included "collusion with foreign countries in a state of enmity with Yemen during the period 2024-2025, namely Saudi Arabia, Great Britain and America, and espionage for their interests through officers of these countries and the Israeli intelligence service Mossad."
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The defendants were also accused of "inciting and aiding the recruitment of a number of citizens... which led to the targeting of several military, security and civilian sites, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people and the widespread destruction of infrastructure."
A man and a woman were each sentenced to 10 years in prison and another person was acquitted in the same case.
Israel has struck targets in Yemen several times over the past two years in response to attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on Israel, who the terror group said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the war against the Hamas terror group.
Following the Israeli strikes, the Houthis launched a vast campaign of arrests targeting those they accuse of spying for Israel or the United States.
The crackdown intensified following an August strike that killed Houthi Prime Minister Ahmed Ghaleb Nasser al-Rahawi and several ministers.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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