President Ali Abdullah Saleh

YEMEN. DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED

May 20, 2006: the death penalty handed down in Yemen to cleric Yahia Hussein al-Dailamiwas commuted into a term of imprisonment by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The sentence, amounting to 10 years imprisonment, was immediately commuted and Al-Dailami was released the following day.
He had been arrested in September 2004 for supporting another cleric, Hussain Badr al-Din al-Huthi. According to Amnesty International, Al-Dailami’s trial did not meet internationally recognised standards, moreover he was a prisoner of conscience as he had limited himself to criticising the government and giving peaceful expression to his opinions. (Sources: Amnesty International, 31/05/2006)