Yemeni rebels sentence activists to prison for criticism
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By AHMED AL-HAJ
Associated Press
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — ِA Yemeni lawyer says a court in the country’s rebel-held capital has sentenced four activists to prison terms, ranging from six months to three years, over their criticism of the rebels on social media. The lawyer says the court in Sanaa convicted the four on Tuesday of inciting chaos, disrupting public peace and insulting the Iran-backed rebels, also known as Houthis. The four were detained in Sanaa in December and January. The charges stemmed from videos they had posed on social media last year criticizing the Houthis over alleged corruption and their handling of the economy. The Houthis control Sanaa and most of northern Yemen. The activists’ arrest and trial are part of the Houthis’ crackdown on dissent.