URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
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9 December 2005
UA 182/05
(This UA was originally issued on UA 182/05 issued 7 July 2005)
Death penalty/Legal Concern and new concern:
prisoners of conscience/fear of imminent execution
YEMEN: Yahia Hussein al-Dailami (m), cleric
New name: Mohamed Ahmed Miftah (m), cleric
Yahia Hussein al-Dailami's death sentence was upheld by
the Court of Appeal in the capital, Sana'a, on 3 December.
The sentence is expected to be passed to the Supreme
Court in the next few days; if they uphold the death
sentence, Yahia Hussein al-Dailami could be facing
imminent execution.
Another Shia Zaidi cleric, Mohamed Ahmed Miftah, who
was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on 29 May at
the trial where Yahia Hussein al-Dailami was sentenced to
death, had his sentence upheld at the 3 December
hearing. His sentence too will now be passed to the
Supreme Court. The prosecution is likely to request the
death penalty. If the Supreme Court agree with this, they
could refer his case back to the appeal court, asking them
to reconsider the case. The complete process can run
quickly, and could see Mohamed Ahmed Miftah facing
imminent execution within weeks.
Both men were sentenced after trial proceedings that fell
short of minimum international standards for fairness.
Amnesty International believes that both men are prisoners
of conscience, held solely for their criticisms of the
government, the peaceful expression of their
conscientiously held beliefs or for being a member of the
Zaidi community. They were arrested in September 2004
and charged two months later with vaguely worded
offences including ''communicating with Iran'', ''conspiring
to overthrow the republican system'' and ''supporting
Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi'' (a Zaidi cleric who was an
outspoken critic of the US invasion of Iraq).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International has longstanding concerns about
the use of the death penalty in Yemen and believes that
scores of people have been executed so far this year.
Among them was Fuad 'Ali Mohsen al-Sharari, who was
executed by firing squad on 29 November following an
unfair trial. The execution was carried out despite many
appeals by Amnesty International and others, including the
European Union, and Yemen's own Human Rights
Ministry, one of the country's leading judges and Yemeni
human rights groups.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to
arrive as quickly as possible:
- calling on the authorities to release Yahia Hussein al-
Dailami and Mohamed Ahmed Miftah immediately and
unconditionally, as they are prisoners of conscience, held
solely for the peaceful expression of their conscientiously
held beliefs or for being a member of the Zaidi community;
- urging the President to intervene and stop the execution
Yahia al Dailami;
- reminding the authorities that they are bound by
international standards for fair trial in capital cases.
APPEALS TO:
President
=B4Ali =B4Abdullah Saleh
President of the Republic of Yemen
Sana'a
Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 127 4147
Salutation: Your Excellency
Prime Minister
'Abd al-Qader Bajamal
Prime Minister of the Republic of Yemen
Sana'a
Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 1 274 662
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Interior
Rashid Muhammad al->Alimi
Ministry of Interior
Sana'a
Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 1 332 511
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Human Rights
Amat al Aeem al Suswah
Ministry for Human Rights
Sana'a, Republic of Yemen
Fax: 011 967 1 419 700
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Abdulwahab A. Al-Hajjri
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
2319 Wyoming Ave NW
Washington DC 20008
Ph: 1 202 965 4760
Fax: 1 202 337 2017
Email: ambassa...@yemenembassy.org
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the
Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm,
Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals
after January 20, 2006.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: u...@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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