SALEH STAYS EXECUTION OF YEMENI TEENAGE CONVICT

the President of Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh, stayed the execution order against a teenager convicted of murder in Taiz in the country’s south, said sources familiar with the case. The presidential order was in response to appeals by international and local human rights groups. The execution of Hafez Ebrahim was scheduled to be carried out on August 7. The appeals demanded commuting the verdict according to the Yemeni penal law that bans death penalty against people under 18. Ebrahim was sentenced to death in 2005 for a murder he allegedly committed when he was 16 years. Essam Mohammad, Ebrahim's lawyer said "we were informed by the central prison officials that the execution was postponed." He added that Ebrahim's age was not the only problem, that his trial was not fair.