Yemen: No more executions

Web Action Number: WA 21/05 29 September 2005

Index Number: MDE 31/017/2005

“I was really shocked…he was talking to me five hours ago, if they were going to kill him why didn’t they tell him to say goodbye to his family, why?” Abshir Ali Hassan, brother of Abdal Fitaah Ali Hassan, a Somali national who was beheaded in Saudi Arabia on 4 April 2005.

Abdal Fitaah Ali Hassan was just one of scores of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year. Neither he nor his family were aware that he had been sentenced to death and was at risk of being executed. They believed that he had served his sentence and was awaiting release. Abdal Fitaah Ali Hassan would have found out about his execution just hours if not minutes before he was executed.

For those in prison in Saudi Arabia and in neighbouring Yemen, who have no information about their fate or who may fear execution, the psychological torment is extreme. A former female prisoner released from prison in Saudi Arabia told AI of the fear of a fellow prisoner accused of murder, “every time a guard opens her cell door she gets very scared [that] they will come to take her for execution”.

During the Islamic month of Ramadan beginning around 5^th October this year and ending with the Eid-al-Fitr celebrations around 5^th November heads of state in Muslim countries may commute, pardon or grant clemency to those who have been sentenced to death. Please send appeals to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and President ‘Ali ‘Abdullah Saleh of Yemen to commute the death sentences against all those awaiting execution in their countries, including the following individuals.

YEMEN

The death sentence against Fuad al-Shahari, a 45 year old father of three, was reportedly ratified by the President in September 2005. His execution could be imminent. He was sentenced to death on 12 November 1996 in connection with the murder of a captain in the Political Security Department. Upon initial arrest he was held incommunicado for a month, during which he was allegedly tortured and forced to confess to the murder. He is detained in Taiz Central Prison. For further information http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE310162005?open&of=ENG-YEM

Amina Ali Abdulatif was scheduled to be executed in May 2005 but the execution was stayed pending a review to determine her age at the time of the offence. She was sentenced to death in May 1999 for allegedly murdering her husband in 1998 when she was 16 years old. In 2002 Amina was scheduled to be executed but the executioner noticed that she was pregnant and the execution was halted. She is said to have been raped by one of the prison guards and has since given birth. The child is almost two years old and lives with Amina in Sana’a Women Central Prison where she is detained. For further information http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE310062005?open&of=ENG-YEM

Hafez Ibrahim was scheduled to be executed in April 2005 for a murder he allegedly committed when he was a minor. However, following a personal appeal by the Minister of Human Rights in Yemen the President stayed the execution until further investigation into his age. The outcome of the investigation is not yet known. He was sentenced to death in August 2000. He is detained in Taiz Central Prison. For further information http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE310032005?open&of=ENG-YEM

SAUDI ARABIA

Suliamon Olyfemi, a Nigerian national aged 27, was reportedly sentenced to death in May 2005 in connection with a murder case. He did not have access to legal representation or consular assistance. He was sentenced following a closed trial without adequate translation. When initially arrested he was allegedly tortured in an attempt to force him to confess to the murder. He is detained in Briman Prison, Jeddah.For further information http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE230072005?open&of=ENG-SAU

Thirty-four-year old Indonesian national and mother of two, Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa, has been detained in Medina Prison since 1999. She was arrested in connection with the murder of her employer in September 1999. She is reportedly psychologically ill and is said to have “confessed” to the murder during police interrogation. AI has raised concerns with the authorities about the confession in view of her psychological state and draws their attention to

UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) resolution 2004/67 of 21 April 2004, para. 4(c) which urges states that still maintain the death penalty “Not to impose the death penalty on a person suffering from any form of mental disorder or to execute any such person”. For further information http://web.amnesty.org/appeals/index/sau-011104-wwa-eng

Sarah Jane Dematera, a Filipina national aged around 31 years old, arrived in Saudi Arabia in November 1992 to work as a domestic helper. Four days after starting her new job, she was arrested for the murder of her employer. She has been in prison for twelve years in connection with the murder of her employer. Sarah Jane was sentenced to death in a secret trial which failed to meet the minimum international standards for fair trial. In 1997 she wrote to her mother saying that after five years she still hadn’t been able to speak to the judge. She is detained in Al Dammam Prison. For further information http://web.amnesty.org/appeals/index/sau-011104-wwa-eng

Please write to the Yemeni and Saudi Arabian heads of state urging them to exercise the special power which they have during the month of Ramadan to commute the death sentences of all those on death row in their country, including the individual cases above, as a matter of urgency with a view towards abolition.

Please make sure that your letters and faxes reach the relevant authorities as soon as possible to make certain that the cases come to their attention during Ramadan which is due to last from around 5^th October to 5^th November 2005.

Please write on behalf of Fuad al-Sahari, Amina Ali Abdulatif and Hafez Ibrahim to:

President ‘Ali’Abdullah Saleh

President of the Republic of Yemen

Sanaa

Republic of Yemen

Fax: 00967 127 4147

Salutation: Your Excellency

Please write on behalf of Suliamon Olyfemi, Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa and Sarah Jane Dematera to:

King Abdullah Bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Al-Saud

The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques

Office of His Majesty The King

Royal Court

Riyadh

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Telegram: H.M. King Abdullah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Salutation: Your Majesty