Urgent Action Appeal - Juvenile - YEMEN

[CCADP]

URGENT ACTION APPEAL

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06 March 2006
UA 49/06
Death sentence/fear of imminent execution

YEMEN
Adil Muhammad Saif al-Ma'amari (m), aged 21


Adil Muhammad Saif al-Ma'amari is in imminent danger of
execution for a murder committed when he was 16 years old.
The Yemeni Penal Code expressly prohibits the use of the
death penalty for crimes committed before the age of 18.
The sentence has now been passed to President Ali Abdullah
Saleh for ratification; he has the power to commute the
sentence to a more humane alternative.

Adil Saif al-Ma'amari was arrested on 27 July 2001, and in
the police station he confessed, allegedly under torture,
to murdering a male relative during an argument. He was
tried at a lower Court in the town of al Rawna, near
Yemen's second city, Taiz. At the start of the trial he
protested that he was under 18. On the orders of a judge he
was examined by a doctor, who reported on 10 October 2001
that he had not yet passed his 17th birthday. Article 31 of
the Penal Code says that "any accused under 18 should not
be sentenced to death under any charge," but the court
ignored this and sentenced him to death on 19 October 2002.
He had no legal assistance during the trial.

Yemen ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which expressly prohibits the execution of juvenile
offenders, in 1991.

Adil Saif al-Ma'amari's appeals were rejected by the Court
of Appeal in Taiz on 23 May 2005, and then by the Supreme
Court on 27 February 2006.

His twin younger brothers, who were 15 at the time, were
arrested with him but released without charge two months
later.


BACKGROUND INFORMATION
At least two people have been executed in Yemen so far this
year. Amnesty International has longstanding concerns about
the use of the death penalty in Yemen, particularly as
death sentences are often passed after proceedings which
fall short of international standards for fair trial. Many
people have been sentenced to death in spite of concrete
evidence that they were under 18 at the time of the crimes
of which they were convicted.

While Amnesty International recognizes the right and
responsibility of governments to bring to justice those
suspected of recognizably criminal offences, it is
unconditionally opposed to the death penalty in all cases
as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and
violation of the right to life.


RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible:
- urging the President of Yemen to commute Adil Muhammad
Saif al-Ma'amari's death sentence;
- pointing out that the execution of juvenile offenders is
expressly prohibited by Article 31 of Yemen's Penal Code,
and by the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
Yemen ratified in 1991;
- calling on the authorities to investigate allegations
that Adil Muhammad Saif al-Ma'amari was tortured by police
to force him to confess;
- acknowledging the right of the government to bring to
justice those responsible for criminal offences, but
expressing unconditional opposition to the death penalty.


APPEALS TO:
President:
His Excellency General Ali Abdullah Saleh
President of the Republic of Yemen
Sanaa
Republic of Yemen
Faxes: 011 967 127 4147
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Interior:
His Excellency Dr Rashid Muhammad al-Alimi
Ministry of Interior
Sanaa
Republic of Yemen
Faxes: 011 967 1 332 511
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Human Rights:
Her Excellency Kadijah al-Haysami
Ministry for Human Rights
Sana'a, Republic of Yemen
Faxes: 011 967 1 444 838
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: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]


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 17 April 2006.


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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: [e-mail]
www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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