Despite the incomplete investigations, the Criminal Prosecution in Aden is accelerating the procedures to end the case of Colonel Ashal

The Specialized Criminal Prosecution Office in Aden Governorate continues to expedite the procedures to end the case of Lieutenant Colonel Ali Ashal, who has been missing for about half a year, despite the lack of completion of investigations and the criticism directed at it by the Ashal family’s lawyer regarding the procedures it followed in dealing with the case.

Today, Wednesday, the Public Prosecution gave a number of defendants accused of kidnapping and concealing Lieutenant Colonel Ali Ashal a month to appear before the court, before closing the case by issuing in absentia rulings against them.

This came in a judicial announcement published in the official October 14 newspaper, in implementation of the decision of the Specialized Criminal Court of First Instance, Aden Governorate.

The announcement called on the accused: (Yusran Hamza Taher Al-Maqtari, Samih Eidrous Abdul Rahman Al-Nurji, Bakil Mukhtar Muhammad Saeed Al-Asbahi, Samer Salem Saeed Faraj Al-Jandab, Ahmed Muhammad bin Muhammad Zaidan, Tamam Muhammad Ghaleb Hassan (Al-Bata), and Mahmoud Othman Saeed Al-Hindi) in case No. (119) of 2024 AD J.J., to appear before the Specialized Criminal Court of First Instance, Aden, to attend court sessions within one month from the date of publication of this announcement.

The announcement indicated that in the event of failure to attend, the accused "will be considered fugitives from justice and legal action will be taken against them."

It is noteworthy that a number of the accused, including Yasser Al-Maqtari, the commander of the Transitional Council's counter-terrorism force, and his deputy, Samir Al-Jundab, fled the country, days after the kidnapping of Colonel Ashal.

Lawyer Adnan Al-Junaidi, who is assigned to follow up on the case of the forcibly disappeared Lieutenant Colonel Ali Ashal Al-Jaadani, had criticized a few days ago the procedures followed by the Public Prosecution in dealing with the case, and called on the Criminal Court to return the case file to the Public Prosecution to complete the investigations and summon all concerned parties, including the Minister of Defense and the Director of Aden Security, to reveal the circumstances of the case.

Lawyer Adnan Al-Junaidi said in a press release that the prosecution decided to end the investigations without questioning the leaders of the counter-terrorism apparatus or searching the prison where Ashal was allegedly being held. He also expressed his surprise that the prosecution relied on contradictory information that was not supported by sufficient evidence to determine the death of Colonel Ashal.

The lawyer referred to multiple statements from official bodies confirming that Lieutenant Colonel Ali Ashal is still alive, based on reports from investigation committees and statements from the Director of Aden Security, who stressed the need to complete investigations to reach the truth.

It is noteworthy that Lieutenant Colonel Ali Ashal Al-Jaadani, commander of an air defense battalion, was kidnapped on June 12, 2024 by gunmen riding in a white "Noha Foxy" car in the Al-Taqniya area in Aden. It later became clear that they were from the Transitional Council's counter-terrorism forces, and he was taken to an unknown location, while his fate remains unknown until now.