Capital punishment in Yemen

Like most countries, the Yemeni legal system exists within the framework of a three-tier structure.{{cite web|title=Country Profile – Yemen|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Yemen.pdf|publisher=United States Library of Congress|access-date=18 February 2013|page=19|date=August 2008}} At the lowest level of jurisprudence are the courts of first instance, established to preside over all different varieties of cases. These range from criminal, civil, commercial, personal status, court-martial, and other miscellaneous offences classified as "special cases" under the penal code (e.g., kidnappings, grand larceny). After trials are held at the lower levels of the Yemeni justice system, there is the option for both the defendant and the relatives of the victim to submit an appeal to an intermediate-level appellate court, which has broad powers to elevate or commute sentences at its discretion.{{cite web|last=Ajbaili|first=Mustapha|title=Yemeni woman sentenced to death for killing male relative who tried to rape her|url=http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/19/244701.html|publisher=Al Arabiya|access-date=18 February 2013|date=19 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205232207/http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/10/19/244701.html|archive-date=5 February 2013|url-status=dead}} Finally, if legal disputes still remain, then the issue is brought to the Supreme Court of Yemen as a last resort. There are no jury trials in the country, and cases are only adjudicated by individual judges.

Although the Yemeni constitution arranges for the separation of powers between different branches of government,{{cite web |title=Constitution of the Republic of Yemen, 1990 |url=http://www.al-bab.com/yemen/gov/off2.htm |access-date=18 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314051334/http://www.al-bab.com/yemen/gov/off2.htm |archive-date=14 March 2013 }} the judiciary is subordinate to the executive branch in practice. The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) is a small committee established by the federal government to oversee matters pertaining to the Yemeni legal system. The SJC, which is accountable only to the President of Yemen,{{cite web|title=Hadi fires Chairman of Supreme Judicial Council|url=http://yemenpost.net/Detail123456789.aspx?ID=3&SubID=5905|publisher=Yemen Post|access-date=18 February 2013|date=29 August 2012}} can directly appoint or dismiss judges without any judicial oversight. In addition, the President must ratify all death sentences before they are carried out, and is the only person in the country with the authority to enact a stay of execution.

Yemen applies Sharia, the Islamic system of law, which serves as the basis for all legislation in the country. Many nonviolent capital offences, such as homosexuality or blasphemy, are derived from a strict interpretation of select Quranic verses.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQuHFPKp8L0C&pg=PA88|last=Wafer |first=Jim |chapter=Muhammad and Male Homosexuality |editor=Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe |title=Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History and Literature |page=88 |publisher=New York University Press |year=1997 |isbn=9780814774687 |access-date=2010-07-24}}{{Cite quran|5|33–34|s=ns}}{{Cite quran|4|15–16|s=ns}} Another facet of Islamic jurisprudence recognized in Yemeni courts is Qisas. As a means of legal retribution, the relatives of a murder victim have the option to either demand the death penalty for the accused party, or to pardon them for their crimes. However, the extent to which this is actually enforced remains a subject for dispute, as the Yemeni justice system has allegedly performed executions despite objections from the families of murder victims.{{cite web |title=Yemeni authorities 'ignored pleas' to save prisoner from execution |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news/yemeni-authorities-ignored-pleas-save-prisoner-execution-2013-02-13 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=19 February 2013 |date=13 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130221140156/http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/yemeni-authorities-ignored-pleas-save-prisoner-execution-2013-02-13 |archive-date=21 February 2013 }} Conversely, death sentences have been reapplied after an initial pardon issued by the President as a result of pressure from relatives.{{cite web|title=Execution of Yemeni Man Feared Imminent |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/003/2013/en/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122065433/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/003/2013/en/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 November 2018 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=19 February 2013|date=11 February 2013 }}

Capital crimes include violent acts like murder, rape, or terrorism, but the death penalty is also used in cases of Islamic or "Hudud" offences under Sharia law such as adultery, sexual offences (including homosexual activity), sodomy, prostitution, blasphemy and apostasy.{{cite web|title=Report on Human Rights in Yemen|url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/ngos/HRW_Yemen_HRC104.pdf|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=2 February 2013|page=5|date=1 February 2012}}{{cite web|title=Yemen: Situation for homosexuals in Yemen, including societal attitudes |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,IRBC,,YEM,,41501c7615,0.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416015255/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,IRBC,,YEM,,41501c7615,0.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 April 2013 |publisher=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |access-date=1 February 2013 |date=16 July 2004 }} Kidnapping, violent robbery, drug trafficking, banditry, destruction of property leading to death, certain military offenses (e.g. cowardice, desertion), perjury causing wrongful execution, espionage and treason carry a possible death sentence as well.{{cite web |url=http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Yemen |title=The Death Penalty in Yemen |publisher=Death Penalty Worldwide |access-date=25 August 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013182456/http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=Yemen |url-status=dead }}

Under the Houthi regime in northern Yemen, there has been an upsurge in death sentences meted out for sexual offences such as sodomy. In February 2024, thirteen men were sentenced to death for sodomy and in March 2024 a further nine men were sentenced to death.{{Cite web |date=2024-03-27 |title=Yemen: Houthis Sentence Men to Death, Flogging {{!}} Human Rights Watch |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/27/yemen-houthis-sentence-men-death-flogging |access-date=2024-10-24 |language=en}} In May 2024, a Houthi-led court sentenced 44 people to death accused of collaborating with the Saudi coalition.{{Cite news |last= |first= |title=Yemen’s Houthis sentence 44 to death on charges of collaboration with a Saudi-led coalition |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemens-houthis-sentence-44-death-charges-collaboration-saudi-110741964 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240604013440/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemens-houthis-sentence-44-death-charges-collaboration-saudi-110741964 |archive-date=2024-06-04 |access-date=2025-04-21 |work=ABC News |language=en-US}}

Shooting is the only form of execution currently known to be used in Yemen. Stoning, hanging, and beheading are also permitted within the Yemeni penal code;{{cite web|title=Execution of Yemeni child killer captured on camera|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/yemen/5765664/Execution-of-Yemeni-child-killer-captured-on-camera.html|publisher=The Telegraph|access-date=5 February 2013|date=7 July 2009}} however, stoning is not known to have been carried out for centuries.

The standard procedure for execution is to lie the defendant face-down on the ground or on a rug or blanket. Afterwards, a single executioner armed with an automatic rifle carries out the sentence by firing multiple rounds into the condemned person's back while attempting to strike the heart (often destroying the spinal vertebrae), the heart is pinpointed beforehand by a medical professional.{{cite web|last=Root|first=Tik|title=Yemen Still Sentences Children to Death by Firing Squad|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/03/yemen-still-sentences-children-to-death-by-firing-squad/273918/|publisher=The Atlantic|access-date=20 March 2013|date=12 March 2013}}{{cite web|title='I owe my life to Amnesty International'|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/i-owe-my-life-amnesty-international-2010-04-09|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=20 March 2013|date=9 April 2010}} In some cases where the defendant is found guilty of an additional Hudud offence, he or she may also be sentenced to flogging prior to the application of the death sentence.{{cite web|title=Yemen 'ripper' executed|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1398354.stm|work=BBC News|access-date=20 March 2013|date=20 June 2001}} Both private and public executions are permitted in Yemen.

The last official execution of a minor in Yemen occurred on 21 July 1993, when 13-year-old Naseer Munir Nasser al-Kirbi and three other men were hanged in the capital Sana'a on charges of murder and highway robbery.{{cite web|title=Executions of juveniles since 1990 |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/executions-of-child-offenders-since-1990 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=2 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204044639/http://www.amnesty.org/en/death-penalty/executions-of-child-offenders-since-1990 |archive-date=4 December 2012 }}{{cite web |title=Juveniles and the Death Penalty: Executions Worldwide since 1990 |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Juveniles_and_the_Death_Penalty,_Executions_Worldwide_Since_1990.pdf |publisher=Amnesty International |page=8 |access-date=2 February 2013 |date=November 1998 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908054542/http://www.hawaii.edu/hivandaids/Juveniles_and_the_Death_Penalty%2C_Executions_Worldwide_Since_1990.pdf |archive-date=8 September 2008 }} Following this, the Yemeni House of Representatives amended its penal code the following year by prohibiting death sentences for persons under the age of 18 at the time of the offence.{{cite web|title=Republican Decree, By Law No. 12 for 1994, Concerning Crimes and Penalties|url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3fec62f17.html|access-date=2 February 2013|page=Article 31|year=1994}} However, the majority of Yemenis are not issued birth certificates (with a civil birth registration rate of 22.6% in 2006, according to the World Health Organization),{{cite web|title=Health information systems and data availability: Census and civil registration coverage by country|url=http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.121|publisher=World Health Organization|access-date=23 April 2013}} and the Yemeni legal system is severely limited in its ability to adequately ascertain the age of defendants. There are several reports that juvenile offenders continue to be executed in Yemen.{{cite web|last=Al-Wesabi|first=Sadeq|title=Hundreds of Yemeni Children 'Teeter on the Edge of Execution'|url=http://www.yementimes.com/en/1638/report/1801/Hundreds-of-Yemeni-children-%27teeter-on-the-edge-of-execution%27.htm|publisher=Yemen Times|access-date=2 February 2013|date=31 December 2012|archive-date=21 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921000541/http://www.yementimes.com/en/1638/report/1801/Hundreds-of-Yemeni-children-%27teeter-on-the-edge-of-execution%27.htm|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=UN child rights official expresses dismay over Yemen juvenile offender execution|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43748#.UQyQ1R00WSo|publisher=UN News Centre|access-date=2 February 2013|date=12 December 2012}}{{cite web|title=Yemen: Teenager faces execution on Saturday |url=https://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17430 |publisher=Amnesty International UK |access-date=2 February 2013 |date=9 August 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070921034245/http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=17430 |archive-date=21 September 2007 }} One particularly notable case is that of Ibb native Muhammed Taher Thabet Samoum, who was charged with a murder committed in June 1999 and subsequently sentenced to death in September 2001.{{cite web|title=Clemency urged for man facing imminent execution in Yemen|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/clemency-urged-man-facing-imminent-execution-yemen-2011-01-18|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=2 February 2013|date=18 January 2011}} His sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Judicial Council and ratified by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.{{cite web|title=Yemen: death penalty against juvenile offenders, notably the case of Muhammed Taher Thabet Samoum|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201102/20110224ATT14322/20110224ATT14322EN.pdf|publisher=European Parliament|access-date=2 February 2013|date=15 February 2011}} Samoum is alleged to have been 13 at the time of the offense, and the case of his imminent execution was given particular emphasis in a February 2011 European Parliament resolution regarding the human rights situation in Yemen.

In addition to the execution of juvenile offenders, human rights organizations have expressed concern that death sentences are passed after unfair trials.{{cite web|title=Amnesty International Annual Report 2009 – Yemen |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c22532,4565c25f413,4a1fadb13f,0,,,YEM.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416011433/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/topic,4565c22532,4565c25f413,4a1fadb13f,0,,,YEM.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 April 2013 |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=1 February 2013 |date=28 May 2009 }} Authorities have at times allegedly extracted confessions through duress,{{cite web|title=Yemen: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee: 104th Session of the Human Rights Committee, 12–30 March, 2012|url=http://www.amnesty.ca/sites/default/files/2012-02-23mde310062012enyemenhrcsubmission.pdf|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=4 February 2013|pages=7, 12, 15, 16|date=23 February 2012|archive-date=8 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808051203/http://www.amnesty.ca/sites/default/files/2012-02-23mde310062012enyemenhrcsubmission.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Yemen: Amnesty International deplores execution after unfair trial |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde31/022/2005/en/ |publisher=Amnesty International |access-date=20 March 2013 |date=29 November 2005 }} using methods such as severe beatings, prolonged suspension, threats of rape, incommunicado detention and inadequate access to food and water.{{cite web|title="Look at Us with a Merciful Eye" - Juvenile Offenders Awaiting Execution in Yemen|url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/yemen0313_ForUpload_2_0.pdf|publisher=Human Rights Watch|page=6|access-date=20 March 2013|date=4 March 2013}}

• Crime in Yemen

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Yemen

Category:Murder in Yemen

Category:Law of Yemen

Category:Human rights abuses in Yemen