Al-Dailami and Miftah pardoned, released [Archives:2006/948/Front Page]

SANA'A ) Judge Yahya Al-Dailami and cleric Mohammed Miftah were released May 21 pursuant to directives of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who also ordered full suspension of the court's judgments against them. Both clerics were charged with allegedly inciting sectarian and theological mischief and being agents for Iran.

The president's directives abolished the death penalty against Al-Dailami, instead endorsing a 10-year sentence subject to suspension. The presidential orders also suspended Miftah's imprisonment sentence, thereby freeing him.

On December 3, 2005, the Appeals Penal Court upheld a first-instance judgment against both Al-Dailami and Miftah. According to the judgment, Al-Dailami was sentenced to death while Miftah was given an eight-year prison term.

The Sana'a Specialized Penal Court sentenced Al-Dailami to death for his meeting with the former Iranian Ambassador to Yemen over a luncheon, as Al-Dailami stated. The sentence partly was based on Al-Dailami's opposition to the Sa'ada War against Houthi loyalists and his call to change the political regime and form a jihadist movement affiliated with the Believing Youth, an organization formerly led by cleric Hussein Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, who was killed in clashes between the military and Al-Houthi loyalists in Sa'ada province last September.

The court also sentenced Miftah to eight years in prison for inciting sectarian conflict and calling to change the political regime and form a jihadist movement affiliated with the Believing Youth.

Both Al-Dailami and Miftah absolutely denied the charges imposed against them by Prosecution and the court.

In late April, participants at the Human Rights and Renewal of Religious Discourse conference in Alexandria, Egypt appealed to President Saleh to intervene to cancel the Appeals Court's death penalty against prisoner of opinion Al-Dailami, as well as sentences against Miftah and Judge Mohammed Loqman.

The participants urged President Saleh to release them quickly, along with other prisoners detained in connection with the Sa'ada War, in compliance with presidential amnesty issued September 25, 2005 and its enforcement.

“We are very sure that [their release] will further enhance the human rights record and basic liberties,” participants asserted.
——
[archive-e:948-v:14-y:2006-d:2006-05-22-p:front]