Houthi Execute Nine After Conviction in Killing of Senior Official in 2018

The Iran-aligned Yemeni Houthi movement announced on Saturday that authorities executed nine individuals convicted of charges related to the killing of Houthi leader Saleh al-Sammad in 2018, who was the highest civilian leader in the movement at that time. Al-Sammad served as the head of the Supreme Political Council affiliated with the Houthis. He was killed in 2018 in an airstrike conducted by the Saudi-led coalition in the city of Hudaydah on the western coast of the country. He was the highest-ranking Houthi official killed by the coalition in the years-long war, as the Houthis fight against forces loyal to the internationally recognized Yemeni government based in the southern city of Aden. Houthi authorities stated that the nine were accused and convicted of involvement in al-Sammad's killing, with charges including espionage and transmitting sensitive information to the Saudi-led coalition. The Houthis reported that the condemned were executed by firing squad in the presence of a large crowd, including Houthi officials and relatives of the deceased official in the capital, Sana'a, which is controlled by the movement.