Yemen lawyer says defendants were tortured by Houthi captors

An investigation found some detainees were scorched with acid, forced to hang from their wrists or were beaten with batons

epaselect epa07472092 Yemenis walk through a market in the old quarter of Sana'a, Yemen, 29 March 2019. Yemen has been engulfed in a four-year conflict since the Saudi-led coalition launched its military campaign to roll back the Houthi rebels and reinstate the country's exiled government in the capital Sana'a. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

A Yemeni lawyer says 36 defendants charged with espionage by the Houthi rebels allege they have been tortured.

Abdel-Majeed Sabra, a Yemeni lawyer representing one of the detainees, made the claim to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

He said his client appeared in court Tuesday but the hearing was adjourned until Saturday.

Mr Sabra says the detainees have been subjected to beatings and other physical abuses since their detentions, which have ranged from two to four years. He said they are held in underground cells and deprived of food and medicine.

Thousands have been imprisoned by the Houthi militia during Yemen's civil war. An AP investigation found some detainees were scorched with acid, forced to hang from their wrists for weeks at a time or were beaten with batons.