Yemen: Young mother faces execution for crime committed when 16

Amina Ali Abdulatif only escaped the firing squad in 2002 because the executioners noticed she was pregnant, according to reports from her lawyer.

She was reportedly raped by one of the guards at al-Mahaweet prison. As a result she gave birth to a child, who is with her in Sana'a Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights Central prison and is now very nearly two years old.

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen said:

"We have only four days to stop the execution of Amina. I hope the people and government of the UK will join Amnesty in its campaign to prevent this unnecessary death.

"Amina was only sixteen when her husband was killed. She maintains that she is innocent and that her confession was tortured out of her.

"The death penalty is always cruel, always unnecessary, always wrong. But with Amina the case for commuting the death penalty is stronger than ever."

Amnesty International members are writing urgent appeals, urging the President to commute the death sentence and stressing that the Yemeni Penal Code prohibits the execution of people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18.

Amnesty is also calling on the authorities to investigate the rape of Amina Ali Abduladif, allegedly by a prison guard, and to ensure that she is protected from any further ill-treatment while she is in prison.

Amina was convicted of the murder of her husband, who was killed in January 1998, and was sentenced to death on 24 May 1999. The court of appeal did not consider Amina's age, and upheld the sentence in July 2001.

The Supreme Court upheld the sentence in July 2002, and the sentence was ratified by the president shortly afterwards.