A Yemeni court specialized in the cases of terrorism and state security, sentenced Yemeni journalist and Al-Qaeda expert Abdul Elah Haidar, to five years in jail, and his friend, Abdel Karim Al-Shami to two years.
The verdict included also, putting Haidar under police surveillance for two years after his release from prison.
Haidar rejected the verdict, and described the court as a military trail in which he said that it followed the political security, and the national security apparatus.
The Yemeni journalist said he would not appeal against the court decision since he did not feel such an appeal would be handled fairly.
The prosecution claims that journalist Abdul Elah Haidar over the last three years participated in an armed illegal gang and is working for Al-Qaeda.
The prosecutor also said that Haidar used to publish false statements through numerous media outlets in order to promote Al-Qaeda. They claim that he is damaging public interest and harming public peace.
Other accusations against Haidar were that he commonly worked as a media officer for cleric of Anwar Al-Awlaki.