Yemen
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1998
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JULY 22, 1998 · Yemen signed the letter, dated 22 July 1999, addressed...
- News items in the archive
- 353
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Yemen is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 353 news items on Yemen, from 1998 to today.
In Yemen the death penalty applies to murder, sexual offences, apostasy and offences against state security. Executions are carried out by shooting, in some cases in public.
The conflict has made the picture even harder to verify: sentences come from authorities that do not recognise one another, and the real number of cases cannot be established. The archive gathers what is documented and names the source.
Latest news
OCTOBER 19, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING MALE RELATIVE WHO TRIED TO RAPE HER
Yemeni woman has been sentenced to death in Yemen for having opened fire and killed
- OCTOBER 9, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
Al-Qaeda militants beheaded three Yemeni men in the city of Maarib after accusing them of spying
Al-Qaeda militants beheaded three Yemeni men in the city of Maarib after accusing them of spying
- OCTOBER 2, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN UPHOLDS SENTENCES AGAINST QAEDA FIGHTERS
A Yemeni appeals court upheld the death sentence against two Al-Qaeda members accused
- JUNE 19, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
UAE: BANI YAS COP-SHOOTING GUNMEN GET DEATH SENTENCE
An Abu Dhabi court sentenced to death two drug dealers who shot and wounded undercover
- MAY 15, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Yemeni national,
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Yemeni national,
- APRIL 11, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
militant group Ansar al-Sharia beheaded a woman for not being a good Muslim in the
militant group Ansar al-Sharia beheaded a woman for not being a good Muslim in the
- FEBRUARY 12, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
two Yemenis were beheaded at dawn by Islamist militants in southern Yemen for charges
two Yemenis were beheaded at dawn by Islamist militants in southern Yemen for charges
JANUARY 31, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: EXECUTION OF TWO OPPOSITIONISTS
two Yemeni oppositionists, Khalid Nahshal and Abdu Nahshal, were executed in a political
- JANUARY 18, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
Yemeni authorities executed Fuad Ahmed Ali Abdullah Alsayed (Alshahari) by shooting
Yemeni authorities executed Fuad Ahmed Ali Abdullah Alsayed (Alshahari) by shooting
- JANUARY 1, 2012YemenDEATH PENALTY
Yemen applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences including rape...
Yemen applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences including rape...
OCTOBER 12, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: FOUR EXECUTED FOR MURDER
two Saudi Arabian women were executed in Riyadh and two Yemenis were executed
SEPTEMBER 22, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: YEMENI EXECUTED FOR MURDER
Yemeni national Abdulrazaq Al-Sayed was executed in the southwestern Saudi Arabian city of
- APRIL 23, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMENI COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY ON SYRIAN OF BRINGING DRUGS
the appeal court in Sana'a, Yemen, chaired by Judge Ahmed al-Mu'alimi...
- FEBRUARY 28, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN: DEATH SENTENCE FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
in Sana'a, Yemen, Judge Mohamed al-Hakimi of the Specialised Criminal Division sentenced Iranian national Mumtaz Sultan Amiri to death for bringing drugs into the country.
FEBRUARY 21, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN HANDS DOWN DEATH SENTENCES TO 11 BANDITS
the Specialised Penal Court in Hadramout, Yemen, sentenced 11 Yemenis to
- FEBRUARY 20, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN: SEVEN SENTENCED TO DEATH
Judge Abdu al-Awadhi of the Specialised Penal Court in Yemen's Hadramout province
- FEBRUARY 13, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN: SIX MEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING SOLDIER
security court in Yemen's southeast province of Hadramout sentenced six men to death for killing
- JANUARY 17, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN CONVICTS AL-QAIDA AGENT IN FRENCHMAN'S DEATH
a Yemeni security court sentenced suspected al-Qaida agent Hisham Assem to death for the killing of a French oil worker on October 6, 2010, on an oil firm compound.
- JANUARY 12, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN: ORDERS TO STOP DEATH SENTENCE OF MINOR
the first lawyer in the Office of the General Attorney in Yemen ordered
- JANUARY 8, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN: MAN ON DEATH ROW MAKES CLEMENCY APPEAL TO SALEH
a Yemeni man facing execution next week for a murder committed in 1999 while he was 13 years old urged President Ali Abdullah Saleh to commute his death sentence.
- JANUARY 2, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN HANDS DOWN DEATH SENTENCE TO SOMALI DRUG DEALER
the Primary Specialized Penal Court in Yemen's Hadramout province
- JANUARY 1, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
Yemen applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences including rape...
Yemen applies the death penalty for a wide range of offences including rape...
- DECEMBER 21, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMENI AUTHORITIES CALLED UPON TO COMMUTE JUVENILE OFFENDER'S DEATH SENTENCE
Amnesty International called upon the Yemeni authorities to halt the imminent execution of a young man for a crime he is alleged to have committed at the age of 15.
- DECEMBER 11, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN: MASTERMIND IN ADEN BLAST GIVEN DEATH SENTENCE
the Aden Specialized Criminal Court in Yemen sentenced Faris Abdullah Saleh to death
OCTOBER 18, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: AL-QAEDA SUSPECT SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER ATTACKS
An al-Qaeda operative was sentenced to death by a state security court in Sana'a for his
- JULY 24, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN SUPREME COURT CONFIRMS DEATH PENALTY
Judge Murshid Jumaiee of Yemen's Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty of
JULY 11, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: APPEAL COURT CONFIRMS DEATH SENTENCES FOR AL-QAIDA MEMBERS OVER ATTACKS
a Yemeni security appeal court upheld death sentences against gang members Rawi Ahmed
JULY 7, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTYYEMEN: AL-QAEDA DUO GET DEATH SENTENCE
Presiding judge Muhssein Alwan of the Yemeni state security court sentenced
- JULY 5, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTY
YEMEN: MAN EXECUTED FOR RAPE, MURDER OF GIRL, 4
A Yemeni man was executed by firing squad in prison after being convicted of raping
- JUNE 30, 2010YemenDEATH PENALTY
in Yemen, the Court of South West Secretariat sentenced Yusuf Nasser...
in Yemen, the Court of South West Secretariat sentenced Yusuf Nasser ...