Claims by a Houthi spokesman about how former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh sparked widespread criticism from his family.
Abdulsalam al-Shaheer told Russia Today during a trip to Moscow that Saleh was killed while attempting to flee Sanaa to his hometown of Sinhan south of the capital.
Saleh’s family issued a statement Thursday to refute and condemn the allegations.
It said he was killed while “valiantly fighting in his home, defending not only himself, but his nation, people and principles.”
He died defending “the revolution, republic and unity, in defense of the will and dignity of all Yemenis and their right to a dignified life, away from all forms of intolerance, discrimination, spite and hatred.”
Saleh severed his relations with the Iran-backed Houthi militias on December 2, 2017, launching a revolt against them in Sanaa. His move culminated in his death by the Houthis when they stormed his residence and that of his relatives later that month. His sons and hundreds of his supporters were arrested in an ensuing crackdown by the militias. Members of his General People’s Congress were also not spared Houthi cruelty.
Shaheer’s remarks were interpreted as a Houthi attempt to gain favor before the international community.
The Saleh family added that they, along with all honorable people of Yemen, will remain loyal to the slain leader’s principles and national approach.
“His memory and major achievements will remain immortal in the hearts of the people and pages of history,” it stressed.
GPC activists said the Houthis are attempting to promote their version of Saleh’s death in order to label him as a coward, in contrast to the actual events, as attested to by his relatives, that prove that he was killed while he was fighting.
Shaheer’s allegations also drew scorn on social media and among Yemeni activists.
Leading GPC member said the Houthis “should be informed that Saleh was martyred at his home, with his weapon in his hands. He was not spontaneously killed, but your gang has planned his murder for months.”
“The blood of the leader and every GPC member has not run dry and it will never be erased. The orders of the leader remain immortal and every GPC member will follow them. Only Houthi sympathizers will violate them,” he added.
“Five million GPC members and every free Yemeni have not and will not forget him and he will be avenged by generation after generation,” he vowed.
Activists also cited the Houthi crimes committed in Yemen, such as murders, the planting of mines, bombings of houses and looting.
“Such crimes may have also been spontaneously committed,” they mocked.
