Story to Inspire – Hafez Ibrahim
Hafez Ibrahim was sentenced to death in Yemen for a killing committed when he was a child aged 16. He was arrested in 2000 and between 2003 and 2005 he was convicted and sentenced.
In October 2007 he sent a text to an Amnesty International researcher from prison, warning of his imminent execution. He credits the subsequent action by Amnesty International with saving his life. He is now studying law and says he will dedicate his life to defending human rights.
Hafez Ibrahim was 16 when he attended a wedding in his home town of Ta’izz. Everyone was in high spirits and most of the men were armed. At some point, the celebrations boiled over, a struggle broke out, a gun went off and someone was killed.
A bewildered Hafez was later sentenced to death for the killing. He was not allowed to appeal. On 29 October 2007, he got hold of a mobile phone in Ta’izz Central Prison and sent a desperate message to Lamri Chirouf, the UK-based Amnesty International researcher who works on Yemen. The text read: “Brother Lamri, they are going to execute us. Please get in touch”.
“We were devastated by this news and immediately sent appeals to the Yemeni President and authorities,” said Lamri. “We also mobilized our membership by issuing an Urgent Action on behalf of Hafez.”
The President responded by ordering a stay of execution to allow time to obtain a pardon from the family of the victim. When no pardon emerged, the execution was rescheduled for 8 August 2007. Amnesty International again sent out appeals to the President, who ordered a further three-day stay of execution.
The family of the victim then agreed to postpone the execution until after the holy month of Ramadan. On 30 October 2007, after the victim’s family agreed to pardon Hafez in exchange for diya (compensation), Hafez was released.
Hafez is now in his third year at Sana’a University studying law. In March 2010, after an emotional reunion with Lamri in Yemen, he described his determination to make the most of the life that was returned to him. “I owe my life to Amnesty International,” he said, “Now I am dedicating that life to campaigning against the death penalty and raising awareness about human rights.”
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