Houthi militias have carried out new violations in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, including confiscating properties and looting the homes of 35 MPs.
This campaign follows the death sentence issued by the Houthi-controlled Specialized Criminal Court on Tuesday against 35 Yemeni pro-government deputies on charges of cooperating with the Arab Coalition.
Those charged include Parliament Speaker Sultan al-Burkani, his deputy Abdulaziz al-Jabari, and Chief of Staff Sagheer bin Aziz.
The Houthi violations on Wednesday pushed the legitimate government to renew its demand to designate the group a terrorist organization.
An MP representing the General People's Congress said his home was stormed by Houthi militants for the second time after his first house was confiscated by the group in 2017.
Sources close to an MP told Asharq Al-Awsat that Houthi gunmen stormed his house in Sanaa and gave his family a one-day ultimatum to leave. They threatened his relatives to expel them and arrest them if they didn't move out voluntarily.
The Houthis accused the lawmakers of “treason” and supporting the legitimate government and the Arab Coalition, and demanded that they be executed and their properties confiscated.
Abdul Basit Ghazi, a Yemeni lawyer who heads the Defense Authority of the Abductees and Prisoners, which provides legal representation to detainees, said the court had earlier postponed issuing the verdicts.
Yet, it later held its session in the presence of Houthi leaders and issued the death sentences.
In April last year, Houthis forced lawmakers under their control in Sanaa to drop the immunity off MPs who support the legitimate government after parliament convened in a landmark session in Seiyun.
Since taking control over Sanaa, the group has been seeking to terrorize its opponents using different tactics, such as looting their funds and homes, and holding illegal trials to convict them.
