On 28 May 2024, the Aden-based Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced journalist Ahmad Maher to four years in prison following a grossly unfair trial on charges of disseminating false and misleading news and forging identity documents. Ahmad Maher was arrested on 6 August 2022 by security forces affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council (STC) de facto authorities in Aden. During interrogations at the Dar Sa’ad police station, security forces subjected him to torture and other ill-treatment to force him to “confess” to being involved in an attack on Dar Sa’ad police station in March 2022. He was denied access to adequate healthcare including for injuries sustained as a result of torture. He was also denied the right to adequate defence, to access a lawyer of his choosing, to presumption of innocence and not to self-incriminate, rendering his detention arbitrary.