Yemeni authorities executed Fuad Ahmed Ali Abdullah Alsayed (Alshahari) by shooting

Yemeni authorities executed Fuad Ahmed Ali Abdullah Alsayed (Alshahari) by shooting in Taiz central prison for allegedly committing murder in June 2004, when he was still a minor according to the family. Fuad’s family was not informed of his imminent execution until the same day it was performed, contrary to normal procedure of notifying the family at least one week in advance. There is also controversy about Fuad’s age. In the court files, he was registered as 21 years old at the time he allegedly committed the offence on 12 June 2004. His family, however, had previously presented authorities with a birth certificate showing that he was in fact 17 years old at the time. Yet the Attorney General dismissed the certificate, claiming it was a fake. In view of the situation, Fuad’s family and lawyer requested that a team of forensic experts be allowed to confirm his age. But the request was refused by the president of the high judiciary council, Judge Isam Samawi, who claimed in May 2011 that nothing could be done because the court order for Fuad’s execution had already been signed by the President.