President Ali Abdullah Saleh

YEMEN. CHILDREN PLEAD FOR CANCELLING DEATH PENALTY

July 25, 2007: the Parliament of Children in Yemen appealed to President Ali Abdllah Saleh, head of the High Judiciary Council and Minister of Justice, to pardon juvenile death row inmate Walid Haikal. The petition said Walid was only 15 years when he committed the crime.
"We appeal to your mercy in light of international conventions, especially the convention on the rights of children that disallows the execution children under 18 years, which Yemen has signed." The trial of Walid Haikal for murder lasted seven years according to the petition. The Parliament of Children is comprised of youths aged between thirteen and fifteen who were elected by schools throughout Yemen. (Sources: NewsYemen, 25/07/2007)