Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council says Aidrous al-Zubaidi ‘committed high treason’

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council issued a decision on Wednesday to dismiss Aidrous al-Zubaidi from the council saying he committed “high treason” after fleeing to an unknown place and failing to travel to Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at de-escalating recent tension in Yemen.

Earlier in the morning, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said that al-Zubaidi, who had led the Southern Transitional Council (STC), had fled to an unknown place and failed to make it to the flight carrying other STC members for talks in Riyadh on the Yemeni situation.

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The Presidential Leadership Council said that al-Zubaidi has been referred to the public prosecutor and has been stopped from his work for “committing high treason with the intent to undermine the independence of the Republic,” according to a statement shared by Yemen’s SABA news agency.

The council also accused him of violating the constitution and for forming armed gangs and committing crimes against officers and soldiers of the armed forces.

The decision also said that al-Zubaidi “exploited the just southern cause and harmed it through the grave violations against civilians and sabotaging military institutions and locations.”

Read more: Yemen’s STC leader al-Zubaidi fled to unknown destination, says Saudi-led Coalition