THIS is the chilling moment a Houthi-run court in Yemen is believed to sentence 13 people to be stoned to death for homosexuality.
Under a horrific ISIS-style rule those charged were given their ruthless death sentences by a judge in a kangaroo court.
Images in local media appear to show the court room where 13 people were sentenced to death by stoning on homosexuality charges
AFPHouthi rebels (pictured) have viciously targeted LGBTQ+ people and subjected them to unfair arrests and torture, according to Amnesty International[/caption]
Houthi rebels have a long and horrifying history with being involved in handing out hundreds of death sentences for a number of reasons – including homosexualityAFP
The sentences were handed down in Ibb, a city in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels, as another 35 people are waiting trial on similar charges, said a judicial source.
Three others were also jailed.
A shocking video of the sentencing on Sunday 4, was shared with AFP, and shows the judge reading out the 13 homosexuality charges.
The video is yet to be verified.
It isn’t clear when the savage executions are set to take place but the 13 convicted can appeal the decision.
According to Amnesty International, the rebels have viciously targeted LGBTQ+ people and subjected them to unfair arrests and torture – including claims of rape and sexual violence.
With same-sex relationships and any form of sexual activity being punishable by death.
The government has even reportedly banned any websites that show support to the LGBTQ+ community and advocate for their rights.
RED SEA ATTACKS
The rebel group has been attacking ships on the Red Sea since November when it imposed a shipping blockade on the area.
They targeted any ship with ties with Israel as they showed their strong alliance with the Hamas militant group.
They recently vowed to continue attacking ships in the region even after a series of US and UK strikes on Houthi bases.
So far, there have been three separate waves of attacks from the US and the on the Iran-backed rebels.
Most recently, the Pentagon said 36 targets were struck in Yemen on Saturday night – hours after Iraq warned that the Middle East was “on the brink of the abyss” as tensions boil over.
On the same day, six Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles in Yemen that posed an ‘imminent threat’ to vessels were hit by the US.
Ever since starting their attacks on ships in the Red Sea, life in Yemen has become increasingly harder with executions on the rise in the conflict-torn country.
Horrific photos lay out the barbarity of their rule – with bodies hung from cranes, and victims forced to lay on their bellies before they are shot at point-blank range.
People can be seen screaming as they are put to death in front of gathered crowds – with some of the executions broadcast on big screens around the capital Saana.
A Yemen researcher from Human Rights Watch, Niku Jafarnia, said the Houthis were using their attacks in the Red Sea to distract the world from its “rights abuses” at home.
She told AFP: “The Houthis are ramping up their abuses at home while the world is busy watching their attacks in the Red Sea.
“If they really cared about the human rights they purport to be standing up for in Palestine, they wouldn’t be flogging and stoning Yemenis to death.”
A Yemeni Army media spokesperson, Rashid Maarouf, made a similar claim, stating: “Many of the death sentences were issued after the war on Gaza.
“We are all seriously considering leaving Yemen to live abroad. There is no safety inside the country. The Houthis have great influence… We are all at risk.”
Who are the Houthi rebels?
THE Houthi rebels are terrorising vessels and warships in the Red Sea – but who are they?
The Shia militant group, which now controls most of Yemen, spent over a decade being largely ignored by the world.
However, since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war they sprung from relative obscurity to holding roughly £1trillion of world trade hostage – turning one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes into an active warzone.
Their warped slogan is “Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam”.
Why are they attacking ships?
The rebel group has been launching relentless drone and missile attacks on any ships – including warships – they deem to be connected with Israel in solidarity with their ally Hamas.
The sea assaults have threatened to ignite a full-blown war in the Middle East as ripples from Israel’s war in Gaza are felt across the region – with Iran suspected of stoking the chaos.
However, there have been frequent attacks on commercial vessels with little or no link to Israel – forcing global sea traffic to halt operations in the region and sending shipping prices soaring.
Houthi attacks in the Red Sea increased 50 per cent between November and December.
The rebel group’s leaders have previously pledged the attacks will continue until Israel stops its devastating offensive inside Gaza – despite recent US and UK strikes on their military strongholds.
HISTORY WITH EXECUTIONS
The heinous Houthi rebels are notorious for sentencing people to death.
A 2022 report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor showed that since seizing power in 2014, the rebels have ordered 350 people to die.
Some of the popular forms of capital punishment include stoning, firing squad executions and hangings by crane.
Despite this large number of sentences just 11 have actually been carried out.
Just over two weeks ago, human rights activist Fatima Al-Arouli was sentenced to death over allegations of spying for the United Arab Emirates, which has been part of a Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis for nearly a decade.
Back in 2021, the rebels executed nine people – including a 17-year-old boy – who they said were spying for the Saudi-led coalition and were involved in the killing of a senior rebel official three years prior.
Hundreds of people, mostly Houthis and their backers, attended the execution, which took place by firing squad in Sanaa.
But the first public execution to take place in Yemen for more than a decade was in August 2017, when a Yemeni man was shot in front of a crowd after being convicted of raping and killing a three-year-old girl.
Yemeni security forces stand next to the body of a man who was executed after being convicted of killing his three daughtersAFP
Yemeni Hussein al-Saket, 22, is seen hanging after being executed by security forces for raping and murdering a four-year-old girlAFP
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