Houthi-controlled court convicts four citizens in Raymah for road paving initiative

A Houthi-controlled court in the Al-Jabin district of Yemen's Raymah governorate has convicted four citizens for participating in a community initiative to pave a road in the Bani al-Harazi area.

The court ruled that the stones used for the road construction were state property and that using them without an official license constituted a “physical assault on state property.” As a result, the four individuals—identified as Mohammed Qasim Abdo al-Qulaisi, Mahmoud Ali Abdullah Qaid, Mohammed Ali Ibrahim al-Ayashi, and Mohammed Ali Mohammed al-Harazi—were each fined 50,000 old riyals.

In addition to individual fines, the men were ordered to jointly pay for approximately 15,000 stones used in the project and 400,000 riyals in legal expenses. Local reports indicate that Houthi-affiliated committees estimated the value of the stones at roughly 8 million riyals, exerting pressure on residents to pay. The initiative was originally launched by locals to alleviate the difficulties of navigating the rugged mountainous terrain, but it has since resulted in legal prosecution and financial penalties.