Sana'a, Yemen  - A Yemeni state security court on Tuesday convicted two Yemenis of spying for Iran and sentenced them to death. The court acquitted a third defendant.

Abdul-Kareem Lalji, 33, and Hani Muhammed Deen, 31, were found guilty of the charges of "illegal contact with a foreign state, and the transmission of military information to it."

Presiding judge Muhssien Alwan said the court acquitted the third defendant Iskandar Abdullah Yusuf, 57, for the lack of evidence.

Prosecutors have told the court that the defendants had provided the Iranian embassy in Sana'a last year with information about Yemen's coastguard forces in the southern port city of Aden.

They said the trio also provided Iran with details of foreign navy ships that call at the port, they said.

According to the charge sheet, the defendants handed over to the embassy "documents and pictures related to defence secrets and the country's political, security, and economic situation."

The trial included 10 court hearings, since it opened on October 11. (dpa)