President stays juvenile execution for third time [Archives:2007/1076/Front Page]
Amel Al-Ariqi
SANA'A, August 12 – “My client has not been exposed to fair legal treatment,” Essam Muhammed, lawyer of 19-year-old Hafidh Ibrahim who was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing a child.
In August 2000, Ibrahim was convicted of killing Sadiq Ismael Radman from Taiz province. Ibrahim and Radman were both 16 when Ibrahim mistakenly shot Radman, according to Muhammad.
The primary court sentenced Ibrahim to death in October 2003. “I registered an appeal against the verdict in the same month,” Muhammad stated, criticizing the criminal court measures, which made it impossible for Ibrahim to receive fair treatment, as Ibrahim's case has not been referred to the appeal or cassation courts. “Due to wrong routine measures inside the primary court, the case was referred directly to the Supreme Court, which approved the verdict,” Muhammed confirmed, pointing out the importance of following legal measures in cases which require dealings with more than one court before carrying out an execution.
Yesterday, President Saleh ordered – for the third time – to delay implementation of Ibrahim's death sentence until the end of Ramadhan (three months away) and he also asked businessmen to pay the blood money to the victim's family.
Ibrahim's execution was scheduled for August 8 but was stayed for three days on the orders of President Saleh following international appeals on behalf of the prisoner.
On April 7, 2005, President Saleh delayed Ibrahim's execution to allow time for an agreement to be reached in the case between Ibrahim's relatives and relatives of Radman.
However, Radman's relatives have reportedly refused to pardon Ibrahim and this past July, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence against Ibrahim.
Besides the legal argument, Ibrahim's case raised arguments among human rights organizations as well as children's organizations, which claimed that Yemen is breaching the children's conventions which it approved, by killing Ibrahim, who was under 18 years old at the time of the crime for which he was convicted and sentenced to death, according to Amnesty International.
Amnesty International is also concerned that Ibrahim was convicted and sentenced for charges of murder following serious trial irregularities.
“We're urgently appealing to President Saleh to think again and stop this execution,” Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan stated in an urgent appeal issued on Thursday.
Amnesty International, which opposes the death penalty in all instances, stated, “We know that the President is aware of international concern that Yemen is on the verge of violating the ban on executing child offenders, and we sincerely hope that he will use his powers to stop this from happening.”
In Yemen executions are usually carried out in prison by making the convicted person lie face down on the ground and shooting them through the heart with an automatic rifle.
Amnesty International is particularly alarmed at the intention to execute Hafidh Ibrahim as Yemen has for over a decade recognized the international ban on executing child offenders. In 1994 Yemen outlawed death sentences against those aged below 18 at the time of the crime (article 31 of the Penal Code, Law 12 of 1994).
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