A Yemeni court has issued death sentences against ten defendants including President Donald Trump, Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud for alleged war crimes.

The case against the defendants was held in their absence at Houthi-run Specialised Criminal Court in the Yemeni governorate of Saada over the Saudi-led coalition’s attack on a bus full of young boys in Dahyan in the Majz district

The Houthi-owned Yemen News Agency (SABA) confirmed that the court issued death sentences to Donald Trump, Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and Norton Schwartz for their alleged roles in the attack.

Commander of the Saudi Air Force, Turki bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemen’s Vice President Ali Mohsen Saleh Al-Ahmar, Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher, Defence Minister Muhammad Al-Maqdishi, and former US Defence Secretary James Norman Mattis were also sentenced to death.

The news agency indicated that the defendants are also required to pay a $10 billion fine to families of those killed in the 2019 airstrike.

The charges related to an airstrike which reportedly hit a school bus, killing 51 people including 40 children

The news agency reported that: “The prosecution has registered its partial appeal to the fifth paragraph of the verdict, regarding the right of those included in the indictment. Thus, the court has not decided on it yet. Private prosecution attorney, Hamdan Shani, joined his appeal to the prosecution’s appeal, while the defence attorney, Abdel Wahab Al-Fadhli, reserved the right to appeal on behalf of the defendants.”

Rtn. Victor Ojelabi

Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.