URGENT ACTION

THREE MEN AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION

Three men in Yemen had their death sentences sent to the President for ratification in mid-October. If the sentences are ratified by the President, they could be executed at any time.

The three men, Shaikh Khalid Nahshal, Mabkhout ‘Ali Nahshal and Abduh Muhammad Nahshal, were among 32 people charged in connection with the killing of at least one government official in the district of Khayran in northern Yemen in September 2006. This happened following a dispute over the local and presidential elections and an exchange of fire between a group of armed men and the government official in charge of Khayran. In 2007 six of the defendants were sentenced to death, but three had their sentences commuted to prison terms in June 2009, following an appeal. The remaining 26 received prison sentences. In January 2010, Shaikh Khalid Nahshal, Mabkhout ‘Ali Nahshal and Abduh Muhammad Nahshalhad their death sentences upheld by the Supreme Court.

The three at risk of execution are reported to be leading members of Islah, an opposition party. Their lawyers have complained that their trials failed to meet international standards. Specifically, they complained that they were not given full and effective opportunity to challenge the evidence against the three men, and that court judges were threatened by relatives of the official who was killed. They also argued that their clients may have been targeted because they had supported a candidate who mounted an unsuccessful challenge against the incumbent President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, in presidential elections in 2006.

PLEASE WRITE IMMEDIATELY in Arabic, English or your own language:

• Urging the President to halt the execution of Shaikh Khalid Nahshal, Mabkhout ‘Ali Nahshal and Abduh Muhammad Nahshal;

• Calling on the President to commute the death sentences of Shaikh Khalid Nahshal, Mabkhout ‘Ali Nahshal and Abduh Muhammad Nahshal;

• Acknowledging that the government has a right to bring to justice those responsible for criminal offences, but expressing unconditional opposition to the death penalty;

• Reminding the authorities that they are bound by international standards for fair trial in capital cases, including the UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, which state that capital punishment may only be imposed after a fair trial in which the defendant is provided with “adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings”;

• Urging the President to commute all outstanding death sentences and establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 17 DECEMBER 2010 TO: