BEFORE June 1998, executions in Yemen were not routinely announced, but the number was thought to be fairly small. Between then and April 2000, based on a count of the official announcements and reports in the press, more than 50 people were executed - all except one for murder.

Four executions are known to have taken place in 2000 but there may have been more. In 2001, 76 executions had been reported by the end of October. 

The usual method of execution is to make convicts lie face down on the ground and shoot them once through the heart with an automatic rifle. Executions are carried out in public and are normally attended by relatives of the victim.

2001

October 31: Hazzaa Hamid Ahmad executed in Ta'izz province, Mohammad Abdul Majid Ghrama executed in Dhali' and Mohammad Nasser Ahmad al-Khobzi executed in al-Baida. All three were convicted of premeditated murder. Source: AFP. (74, 75, 76)

October 10: Eight Yemeni men executed for nine murders. Ahmad Belkhir Ba Sameh, Mohammad Yeslem Ba Sameh, Salem Yeslem Ba Sameh and Shajin Salem Ba Shajine executed in Hadramawt province; Mohammad Yahia al-Hadhiri and Mohammad Mohammad Ali al-Haruni executed in Sana'a. Fares Omar Abdullah al-Jadani executed in Abyan. Ali Zeid Salem Zuhair executed in Hodeida province for killing five people. Source: AFP (66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)

September 5: In Ibb province, Muhammad Ahmed Abdullah executed in Ibb province for murdering Muhammad Ali Ghaleb, Hassan Masad al-Mahmudi for killing Mukhtar Ali Abdul Hamid, and Abdullah Hezaa Auqlan for murdering Hezaa Auqlan Hassan (not clear whether Auqlan and Hassan were related). In Dhamar province, Ahmed Mehdi Rashid executed for murdering Thabit Saad. In Sa'adah province, Yehia Ali Muhammad executed for murdering Muhammad Amida Hadi. Source: AP. A conflicting report by AFP said four were executed in Ibb (Mohammad al-Zamzami, Morshed al-Hazifi, Hassan al-Mahmudi and Abdullah Aklan). It named the other two men as Ahmad al-Oufairi (in Dhamar) and Yehya al-Atmi (in Sa'adah). (60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65??)

September 3: Nasser Saleh Hamid executed in Hajjah province for murdering Khaled Hussein Ali. Report: AP (59)

August 28: Abdul Wali Ali Saleh executed in Sana'a for murder of Nasser Ahmed al-Shagdari. In al-Baydah province, Tawfic Ahmed Saleh executed for murder of Abdullah Salem and Amnah Ali Hmood; Mohammed al-Homaiqani executed for murder of Abdul Wahab Mohammed Saleh. Naji Mansour Saleh executed in Ta’izz for murder of Abdul Kader Hayal. Source: AP (55, 56, 57, 58)

August 27: Abeed Muhammad Abeed executed in southern Yemen for murder of Muhammad Ali Muhammad. Source: AP (54)

August 26: Abdu Ali Muhammad executed in Ibb province for murder of Muhammad Mohsen Hassan. Source: AP (53)

August 22: Ahmed Saleh Diefallah executed in al-Baydah province for murder of Ahmed Muhammad Saleh; Fadel Ali Hussein executed in Dali’ province for murder of Ahmed Ahmed Khadir. Source: AP (51, 52)

August 21: Muhammad Ali Mutiesh executed in Lahij for killing Abdullah Saleh Hussein and Saleh Hussein Hajeb. Source: AP (50)

August 19: Adel Yehya Saleh al-Matari executed in Amran province for murder of Qanaf Hussein Zayed. Source: AP (49)

August 15: In Sana'a, Abdullah al-Sifyani was executed for the murder of Mohammed al-Abhar, and Nasser Saleh al-Matari was executed for the murder of Nabil Naji al-Matari. In Ta'izz, Mustafa Saeed Ahmed was executed for the murder of Ali Abdulrab. Source: AP (46, 47, 48)

August 6: Rashid Ahmed Saleh executed for killing Hassan Ali Abdullah and Salem Hassan Said. Nabil Saleh Nasser executed for killing Ali Hussein Abdu. Both men were Yemenis and were executed in Sana'a. Source: AP (44, 45)

August 5: Ali bin Ali Hassan, a Yemeni, executed in Sana'a for killing Ali Ahmed Saleh. Source: AP (43)

July 30: Two Yemenis, Ahmed Muhammad Saleh and Abdullah Muhammad Ahmed, executed by firing squad in Sana'a for two separate murders, the state prosecutor said. Report: AP/Zawya. (41, 42)

July 29: Jameel Jamal Mohammed executed by firing squad in al-Bayda province for the murder of Ali Daifallah, the state prosecutor's office said. Report: AP (40)

July 25: Four Yemeni men executed by firing squad for separate murders: two in Ibb, one in Aden and one Saada. Report: AP/Zawya (36, 37, 38, 39)

July 24: Two Yemeni men executed by firing squad in Dali' and Hajjah provinces for murder. No further details were given. Report: AP/Zawya (34, 35)

July 23: Yemeni man executed by firing squad in Sana'a province for murder. No further details were given. Report: AP/Zawya (33)

July 18: Saeed Salem Mubarak, a Yemeni, executed in public in Hadramawt. He had been convicted of murdering Asia Rees bin Taleb in 1996 and was shot in the presence of victim's family and court officials. Report: AP/Zawya (32)

June 20: Mohammad Adam Omar ("the Sana'a Ripper") executed in front of a crowd of 50,000 for the rape and murder of two university students. [Background: The Observer.] The Sudanese mortuary assistant was ordered to lie face down, with his hands cuffed behind his back. An officer fired three shots at his heart with an AK-47 assault rifle. When Omar kept moving, he was shot point blank in the head. Reports: BBC, UPI, AP, AFP (31)

June 18: Thabet Abdo Saleh executed by firing squad in al-Dali for killing three people. Hmood Othman Qassem executed in Ta'izz for the murder of Mohammed Saeed Mohammed. Report: AP (29, 30)

June 7: Talal Ali al-Asem executed in Sana'a for the murder of Nasser Ahmed Hussein.  Yahya Ahmed Mohammed executed for the murder of Mohammed Yahya Jahdari in Hodeidah. Both were executed by firing squad. Report: AP (27, 28)

May 21: Shouai Ibrahim al-Matari  executed by firing squad in Hajjah province for murdering an unrelated man, Shouai Shabayn al-Matari, and his daughter, Qamamah. Report: AP. (26)

May 14: Muhammad Hussein Ahmed al-Ariqi executed by firing squad in Sana'a for the murder of Hamda Murshid Tahir al-Hamdani. Report: AP (25)

May 13: Abdel Karim Muhammad Alwan executed for the murder of Amin Hussein Abdullah. Yahia Seif Ahmed Muhammad executed for the murder of Yahia Abdullah Saeed. Both were executed by firing squad in Sana'a. Report: AP (23, 24)

May 11: Eight Yemenis executed by firing squad for separate murders. Shuai Shuai Ali al-Kutafi was executed in Hajjah province for the murder of his uncle, Ali Bahi al-Kutaf, during a political argument, an official said. The two men had supported different parties during the local elections in February. The others executed were: Ali Hassan Mathar Fadail (Hajjah province), Salah Hussein Bahi Muhammad al-Katbari (Sa'ada province), Adnan Ali Nasr (Sana'a), Muhammad Hadi (Ibb province), Jamal Abdul Kayid al-Lahbi (Ibb province), Ali Abdu Hazaa al-Mansub (Ta'izz province), Abdullah Abdul Ghaleb al-Hamadi (Ta'izz province). Report: AP/CNN. (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

April 17: Five Yemenis executed for murder, Saba news agency reported. Mohammad Abadi Ali al-Sarigi and Waddah Nasser Ahmed Moshbah were executed n Sanaa; Mohammad Khaled al-Sirri and Mansur Mohsen Shayef were executed in the suburbs of Sanaa; Abdel Lateef Farez Daghar, was executed in Hadramaut. Report: AFP/Zawya (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)

April 11: Seven men convicted of separate murders were executed by firing squad. Ali Ahmed Na'man al-Muqtari, Hamad Mansur Saleh and Ghaylan Hamud Hassan were executed in Ta'izz for their role in three murders.Ali Mohammed Abdullah was executed in Dhamar for the murder of Ibrahim Muhammad Omar. Nu'aman Abd Hussein, Saleh Hamad Seif and Abdullah Said Hassan were executed in Ibb for three unrelated killings. Report: AP/Zawya (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

March 31: Rodman Mohammed Saad executed by firing squad in Sana'a Central Prison. He had been convicted of shooting Abdullah Mohammed Abdu with an AK-47 assault rifle during a dispute in Sana'a in 1993, an official told AP news agency. (2)

March 25: Abdu Shouan Mohammed Mokbil, a Yemeni, was executed by firing squad in Hajjah province. He had been convicted of the 1993 murder of Nasser Kassem during a land dispute. (1)

2000

April 10: Two men convicted of murder were executed by firing squad in Dhamar: Mohammed Mesaed Mesleh for killing Mohammed al-Ansi in February 1998; Riyad Ali Aayed for killing Abdul Jaleel Mohammed Ali. (51, 52)

March 29: Two Yemeni men convicted of murder were executed in Ta'izz: Mohammed Abdullah al-Mashooli for killing Mohammed Ali Abdo; Saleh Hassan Mohammed for killing Mariam Naji Ahmed in 1995. (49, 50)

1999

November 4: Abdullah Ali Abdullah Awwadh executed in Hajjah province for killing a fellow Yemeni. [Saba] (48)

October 27: Saba news agency reported four executions: Saleh Ahmed al-Haj Farmad in Dhamar province for killing a fellow Yemeni; Abdul-Karim Mohammed Hassan in Ibb province for killing a woman; Fayed Ahmed Ghaleb and Mohammed Saleh al-Ghabari for the kidnap and murder of a child. The bodies of the latter two men were put on public display. (44, 45, 46, 47)

October 18: Saba news agency reports the executions of two men in Shabwa province for the murder of two other men. (42, 43)

October 17: Abu al-Hassan al-Mihdar, leader of the Islamic Army of Aden-Abyan, executed in connection with the kidnapping of 16 western tourists and the deaths of four of them. (41)

September 16: al-Jumhuriyya newspaper reported the executions of two Yemeni men for killing three people, including a woman. (39, 40)

July 29: Tawfiq Saad Saleh executed in Tai'zz province for murder. [Reuters] (38)

July 5: Mohammed Ali Jahlan executed in Dhamar for murder. [Saba news agency] (37)

June 30: Abdul-Fattah Ahmed Qaid executed in Sana'a for murder. [al-Thawra] (36)

June 4: Abdu Thabet Mohammad executed for killing two people. [al-Thawra] (35)

May 16: Five men from the al-Hakim family executed in Yemen for killing three other family members. The report did not mention where the executions took place. [Reuters]  (30, 31, 32, 33, 34) Five men from the al-Hakim family executed in Yemen for killing three other family members. The report did not mention where the executions took place. [Reuters]  (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)

May 3: Kaed Mohammad Mekhbesh and Nasser Kaed Mekhbesh, both convicted of murder, executed in Hajja province [Saba news agency]. (28, 29)

March 22: Ahmad Mahdi al-Nafish executed for murder in Sana'a province. (27)

March 16: Three men executed for murder in Ibb province. (24, 25, 26)

February 28: Yemeni man executed for murder in Dhamar province. (23)

February 17: Yemeni man, Saleh Maneh Ali al-Abraq, convicted of killing his cousin, executed in al-Bayda province (AFP). (22)

February 15: Three convicted murderers, Jamal Abd al-Malik al-Halimi, Ahmad Ali Fadil and Abdullah Hussein al-Shuki, executed in public in the town of Ibb. Families of their victims were in the crowd that attended (AFP). (19, 20, 21)

February 10: Yemeni convicted of murder executed al-Bayda province (SABA). (18)

February 3: Nasr Abdel Jalil al-Raadi, a Yemeni, executed in Hodeidah for killing Ramzi Mohammed Hassan. It was the first execution of 1999 (AFP). (17)

1998

November 9: Yemeni man executed for murder in al-Baidah province in front of the parents of his victim. (SABA) (16)

October 28: Yemeni man executed in Hodeidah province for murder. The victim's parents witnessed the execution. (SABA) (15)

October 21: The official al-Thawra newspaper reported the execution of Ahmed Ali al-Jaradi who was convicted of killing Mohammad Qasim al-Jaradi (thought to be related). (14)

October 17: Mohammad Ali Tanam executed for murder in Hodeidah. (13)

October 14: Faisal Saleh bin Zuba'a, a tribesman, executed two days after killing a local pediatrician. In an unusually fast trial, the man was found guilty of killing Dr Mohammad Hayel while trying to steal his car. Reuters quoted an official as saying: "Citizens in Marib who attended the execution opened fire in the air expressing their happiness that justice had been done." (12)

October 6: Mohammad Qasim al-Shami and Ahmed Ali al-Shami executed in Ibb province for murdering a woman, Finda Zaid al-Shami. Killers and victim were believed to be from the same family. (10+11)

October 3: The official al-Thawra newspaper reported that Mohammad Ahmad Awad al-Haj had been executed in Sana'a province for killing Mohammad Jar. (9)

September 21: Mohammad Ahmed Daoud and Abdullah Saleh Mustafa executed in Sana'a province for deliberately killing Awad Saleh Daoud. The killers and their victim all came al-Hema area. The sentences had been confirmed by higher courts. (7+8)

September 10: Abdu Said Aklan executed in Ta'izz for murder. (6)

September 3: Fadl Ahmad Sakra and Zayed Sultan Ayun executed in Ta'izz for the murder of a man. The court ordered that their bodies be publicly displayed for three days. (4+5)

September 3: Ahmad Ali Hammud executed in Sanaa after a military court and an appeal court found him guilty of killing two people. (3)

August 6: Saleh al-Hamed, a Yemeni convicted of murdering two people 18 months earlier, executed in Marib "in front of a crowd of citizens and the family and relatives of the victims" and authorities, according to Al-Ayyam newspaper. "Sheikhs and social dignitaries in Marib expressed their strong satisfaction for the implementation of the sentence," the paper said. (2)

June 2: Air force officer executed for murder of another officer. (1)