Yemen: PLC Stresses Importance of Judiciary's Independence

Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, meets with the leaders of the judiciary in Aden, on Sunday (Saba News Agency)
Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, meets with the leaders of the judiciary in Aden, on Sunday (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen: PLC Stresses Importance of Judiciary's Independence

Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, meets with the leaders of the judiciary in Aden, on Sunday (Saba News Agency)
Chairman of the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, meets with the leaders of the judiciary in Aden, on Sunday (Saba News Agency)

The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) has affirmed its keenness to enhance the independence of the judiciary, and to maximize its role in achieving justice and the rule of law and defending the constitutional order and national identity.

PLC Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi and Council members Aidarous Al-Zubaidi, Abdul Rahman Al-Muharrami, Abdullah Al-Alimi, and Othman Mujalli, held the first meeting with the leaders of the judiciary, which took its legal oath on Sunday.

“The independence of the judiciary is the fortified fence of the rule of law, and one of the important guarantees of constitutional legitimacy, strengthening the prestige of the state, combating corruption, and deterring any attempt to abuse power,” said Alimi.

During the meeting, Alimi congratulated the women of Yemen on the presence of a woman at the top of the pyramid of the judiciary for the first time in the country's history.

He praised the role of loyal men of justice in warding off sedition, lifting grievances, strengthening the people’s confidence in their constitutional institutions, and rallying around the plan to restore the state, and its inherent right to monopolize power.

Alimi also drew attention to the importance of taking into account the exceptional circumstances the country is experiencing, not disrupting people's interests, and urgently deciding on citizens' civil, criminal, and commercial interests, and everything that would mitigate the impact of this war that was ignited by Iran-backed Houthi militants.

Alimi stressed the importance of working together to protect the existing consensus and fill the legal and knowledge gaps faced by the executive authorities.

PLC members and Alimi heard from the President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Mohsen Yahya Talib, a full explanation about the conditions of judges and judicial institutions, and the requirements for strengthening their presence in governorates.



Art Expert Pleads Guilty to Selling Works to Suspected Hezbollah Financier

FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
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Art Expert Pleads Guilty to Selling Works to Suspected Hezbollah Financier

FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa
FILED - 27 October 2023, Iran, Chomein: A woman sorts flags of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in a factory. Photo: Arne Immanuel Bansch/dpa

An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show pleaded guilty Friday to failing to report that he sold pricey works to a suspected financier of Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group.
Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, was charged with failing to disclose art sales between October 2020 and December 2021. He pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates’ Court to eight offences under a section of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Ojiri sold about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) of artworks to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the UK and US as a Hezbollah financier. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the UK or US from doing business with Ahmad or his businesses.
US prosecutors said Ahmad acquired more than $160 million (120 million pounds) in artwork and diamond services by using a complex web of companies to evade sanctions, reported The Associated Press.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri knew about the sanctions against Ahmad because he had searched for news reports about his status and discussed it with others.
“There is one discussion where Mr. Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about his terrorism links,” Harris said.
Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by the US Treasury, which said he was a prominent Lebanon-based money launderer involved in smuggling blood diamonds, which are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance violence.
Two years ago, the UK Treasury froze Ahmad’s assets because he financed the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group.
Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 6 in the Central Criminal Court.