A source in the Yemeni Presidential Office has condemned what it described as "grave violations" by the Houthi group, internationally designated as a terrorist organization, of the Judicial Authority Law and its independence, protected by the constitution and national and international legislation.

The source, identified as a "responsible official," stated in a press release published by the official Yemeni news agency Saba, that the Houthi group's proposal for what it calls "amendments to the Judicial Authority Law" constitutes a "flagrant violation of the judiciary's independence and neutrality."

The source stated that this action is part of the Houthis' "systematic targeting of rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution, national legislation, and international covenants and treaties."

The official source explained that these "destructive" measures, targeting what remains of state institutions, coincide with the anniversary of the September 26th Revolution. This, the source said, is a "further defiance of the will of the Yemeni people who have made every sacrifice in defense of the republican system and its national achievements, and who have permanently rejected the Imamate system."

The source indicated that the Houthi group "aims through these measures to strengthen the dominance of a specific group of their followers over the institutions they have seized, primarily the judiciary, by limiting appointments to graduates of religious schools who are loyal to their destructive sectarian project. This would exclude honorable judges and lawyers who defend rights and freedoms, replacing them with agents of their own Sharia law to implement their agenda and turn the judiciary into a tool for blackmail and terrorizing their opponents who reject their coup project."

The source emphasized the "rejection of this provocative step, affirming its illegitimacy as it originates from a 'criminal revolutionary militia' with no legal authority over the independent judiciary."

On Wednesday, the Houthi group announced the submission of a draft resolution for amendments to the Judicial Authority Law. This would allow them to appoint judges from outside the judiciary, disregarding competence and requiring only a certificate of good conduct. It would also prohibit lawyers from practicing and reinstate a system of agents outside the legal profession.

The Judges' Club and the Bar Association subsequently issued separate statements rejecting the draft resolution and pledging to oppose it, considering it a massacre and a coup against the judiciary, an attempt to reinstate the defunct Imamate system.

Lawyers and human rights activists have described this as a step aimed at completing the group's control over the judiciary, appointing members of their lineage to courts, enabling them to violate justice and suppress rights and freedoms, particularly as the draft restricts the work of lawyers.

This comes after nearly two years since the group formed what it calls the "Judicial System" under the leadership of the cousin of the group's leader and head of its Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, with the aim of managing, monitoring, and sanctioning judges.