Death Penalty For Killer of Jewish Man in Yemen

by Erica Morris - Thursday 25th June 2009


A man convicted of murdering a Jewish father-of-nine in Yemen last December has been sentenced to death.

Sunday's ruling came during an appeal which overturned the original sentence in March, in which of Abdul Aziz Yahya al-Abdi was declared "mentally abnormal" and therefore unfit for execution.

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The 39-year-old Muslim admitted gunning down Masha Yaeish al-Nahari in the town of Raydah, a murder he said he had committed after warning local Jews he would kill them unless they converted to Islam.

The former airforce pilot was originally ordered to pay a fine of $27,500 to the deceased's family, but Nahari's family immediately took action against the ruling.

Yaish al Nahari, the victim's father, told reporters following the appeal: "This is fair and this is Islamic Sharia [law]. I am happy about this verdict. I know it will not bring back my sole son, but at least it will relieve us that justice has been made."

The Nahari family's solicitor Khalid al Anisi said: "We consider the verdict a triumph for Islam, [a religion] that treats people equally and a correction for the primary court scandal. It is the first court verdict that gives the death penalty for a Muslim [murdering a Jew] since the 1980s.

"Usually tribal dignitaries used to interfere and exercise pressure on the Jewish families of the victims to accept tribal arbitration, ending with blood money. But this is also the first case in which the killing of a Jew is motivated by extremist religious views."

Al-Abdi - who reportedly said following the announcement of his pending execution, "This verdict honours me" - was also convicted of murdering his wife five years ago, but was spared imprisonment after he was found to be mentally unfit.

Al-Abdi's elder brother Sheikh Hamud al Abdi condemned the decision and said his family would look to overturn the ruling. He said: "This is unfair and shameful as Abdul Aziz suffers from psychological problems. The primary court has proved that. We will challenge this verdict."

The sentencing came on the same day three Jewish families made aliyah from Yemen. The group of 16 landed at Ben Gurion airport on Sunday as part of an initiative to aid Yemeni Jews in need. In March, the Jewish Agency helped two other families move to Israel from the country, home to an estimated 250 Jews.

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