HODEIDAH (Debriefer)--The specialized criminal appeals court in Yemen's Hodeidah province on Wednesday held a seventh hearing for persons accused of assassinating the former president of the Houthi supreme political council Saleh Al-Samad and his companions.
It gave the relatives of the victims and the prosecution time to respond to appeals by the lawyers of the defendants, according to the Sanaa-based Saba news agency.
The accused of assassinating Al-Samad and his companions include Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, Yemen's President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, Defence Minister Mohammed Al-Maqdashi and other army chiefs including those backed by a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, according to pro-Houthi media.
Al-Samad was on a list of 40 Houthi leaders wanted by the coalition. He was killed in a drone attack by the coalition in April 2018 in Hodeidah.
In August, the court handed down death sentences in absentia to foreign leaders and officials, including former US President Donald Trump and US army chiefs, Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and President Hadi, after convicting them of killing Al-Samad.
Moreover, it sentenced 16 Yemeni people to death for participating in the crime.
