Sana'a, Yemen - A Yemeni court on Monday sentenced 12 Shiites, including a prominent opposition journalist, to up to 10 years in prison and another to death for plotting attacks in support of rebels fighting army forces in northern Yemen.

The court sentenced the main defendant, Ja'afar al-Merhebi, to death for killing two police officers as they raided his house in the capital Sana'a last year.

Four other men received 10-year jail terms each, and two others were sentenced to eight years in prison. Six others, including a woman, were sentenced to jail terms varying from one to six years.

Another woman was acquitted of the charge of providing shelter for al-Merhebi.

As presiding judge Muhssein Alwan delivered the verdicts, the defendants shouted: "Death to America, death to Israel, curse on Jews and victory to Islam."

The slogan is the trademark of the rebel Shiite group Believing Youth, whose armed members have been fighting government forces in the northern province of Saada since mid-2004.

Among those convicted was Abdul-Kareem al-Khaiwani, former editor of the Shura opposition weekly, who received a six-year jail sentence. He was convicted of disseminating pro-rebel propaganda to local and foreign media.

When the trial began in July 2007, prosecutors said the defendants had been involved in a conspiracy to blow up vital government and military buildings in Sana'a, and prepared remote-controlled explosive devices to carry out the attacks.

They also said the suspects had planned to poison the water reservoirs of police and military posts.

Police arrested al-Khaiwani in June last year over suspected links to a "terrorist cell" connected to Believing Youth. He told reporters at the court that his trial was "political."

"This is a political trial, and this court is for conviction and knows no acquittal," he said.

Al-Khaiwani, an outspoken critic of government policy, lodged an appeal against the verdict. (dpa)