Capital punishment in Yemen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Yemen. Per capita, Yemen has one of the highest execution rates in the world.[1][2] Capital punishment is typically carried out by shooting,[3] and executions occasionally take place in public. In addition to being the only individual in the country with the authority to grant clemency, the President of Yemen must ratify all executions handed down by any court before they are carried out.[4] Since 2014, large parts of the north and north-west of the country are under the control of the extremist Houthi rebel group, who have presided over an expansion in the use of the death penalty.[5]

Legal procedure[edit]

Like most countries, the Yemeni legal system exists within the framework of a three-tier structure.[6] 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).[6] 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.[7] Finally, if legal disputes still remain, then the issue is brought to the Supreme Court of Yemen as a last resort.[6] There are no jury trials in the country, and cases are only adjudicated by individual judges.[6]

Although the Yemeni constitution arranges for the separation of powers between different branches of government,[8] 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.[6] The SJC, which is accountable only to the President of Yemen,[9] can directly appoint or dismiss judges without any judicial oversight.[6] 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.[4]

Yemen applies Sharia, the Islamic system of law, which serves as the basis for all legislation in the country.[8] Many nonviolent capital offences, such as homosexuality or blasphemy, are derived from a strict interpretation of select Quranic verses.[10][11][12] 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.[13] Conversely, death sentences have been reapplied after an initial pardon issued by the President as a result of pressure from relatives.[14]

Capital crimes[edit]

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.[3][15] 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.[3][16] 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.[17] In May 2024, a Houthi-led court sentenced 44 people to death accused of collaborating with the Saudi coalition.[18]

Methods[edit]

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;[19] however, stoning is not known to have been carried out for centuries.[3]

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.[20][21] 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.[22] Both private and public executions are permitted in Yemen.[21]

Criticism[edit]

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.[23][24] 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.[25] 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),[26] and the Yemeni legal system is severely limited in its ability to adequately ascertain the age of defendants.[3] There are several reports that juvenile offenders continue to be executed in Yemen.[4][27][28][29] 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.[30] His sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Judicial Council and ratified by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.[31] Samoum is alleged to have been 13 at the time of the offense,[28] 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.[28]

In addition to the execution of juvenile offenders, human rights organizations have expressed concern that death sentences are passed after unfair trials.[32] Authorities have at times allegedly extracted confessions through duress,[32][33][34] using methods such as severe beatings, prolonged suspension, threats of rape, incommunicado detention and inadequate access to food and water.[35]

Number of executions per year[edit]

Year Number of executions
2023 13+[36]
2022 4+[37]
2021 14+[38]
2020 5+[39]
2019 7+[40]
2018 4+[41]
2017 2+[42][43]
2016 Unknown[44]
2015 8+[45]
2014 22+[46]
2013 13+[47]
2012 28+[48]
2011 41+[49]
2010 53+[50]
2009 30+[51]
2008 13+[32]
2007 15+[52]
2006 30+[53]
2005 24+[54]
2004 6+[55]
2003 30+[56]
2002 10+[57]
2001 56+[58]
2000 13+[59]
1999 35[60]
1998 17+[61]
1997 5+[62]
1996 1+[63]
1995 41+[64]
1994 25+[65]
1993 30+[66]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Johnson, Richard (2012). "The Death Penalty" (PDF). National Post. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Death sentences and executions in 2010" (PDF). Amnesty International. 28 March 2011. pp. 26–27. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Report on Human Rights in Yemen" (PDF). Human Rights Watch. 1 February 2012. p. 5. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  4. ^ a b c "Inhuman sentencing of child offenders in Yemen" (PDF). Child Rights International Network. March 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  5. ^ https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2024/country-chapters/yemen
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Country Profile – Yemen" (PDF). United States Library of Congress. August 2008. p. 19. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  7. ^ Ajbaili, Mustapha (19 October 2012). "Yemeni woman sentenced to death for killing male relative who tried to rape her". Al Arabiya. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  8. ^ a b "Constitution of the Republic of Yemen, 1990". Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  9. ^ "Hadi fires Chairman of Supreme Judicial Council". Yemen Post. 29 August 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  10. ^ Wafer, Jim (1997). "Muhammad and Male Homosexuality". In Stephen O. Murray and Will Roscoe (ed.). Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History and Literature. New York University Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780814774687. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
  11. ^ Quran 5:33–34
  12. ^ Quran 4:15–16
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  17. ^ https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/27/yemen-houthis-sentence-men-death-flogging
  18. ^ https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemens-houthis-sentence-44-death-charges-collaboration-saudi-110741964
  19. ^ "Execution of Yemeni child killer captured on camera". The Telegraph. 7 July 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
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  28. ^ a b c "UN child rights official expresses dismay over Yemen juvenile offender execution". UN News Centre. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
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  31. ^ "Yemen: death penalty against juvenile offenders, notably the case of Muhammed Taher Thabet Samoum" (PDF). European Parliament. 15 February 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
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  38. ^ "Death sentences and executions 2021". Amnesty International. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  39. ^ "Death sentences and executions 2020". Amnesty International. 21 April 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  40. ^ Overview of the death penalty worldwide in 2019
  41. ^ "Death Penalty Worldwide". www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org. Archived from the original on 2018-02-15.
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  45. ^ "Death Sentences and Executions - 2015". Amnesty International. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
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  66. ^ "Amnesty International Annual Report 1994 – Yemen". Amnesty International. 1 January 1994. Archived from the original on 16 April 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
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