E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.1 Page 101 Yemen Urgent appeal sent on 27 October 2005 with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on torture 488. The Special Rapporteurs brought to the attention of the Government the situation of Mr.Yahya Al-Daylami, a religious leader of the Shiite Zaydi minority, who was taken into custody in Sa’da by agents of the Political Security Force on 9 September 2004. As this arrest was carried out by force, covertly, and without an arrest warrant, it had been described as abduction rather than an arrest. Since then, he had been held incommunicado at the intelligence detention centre in Sana’a. On 29 May 2005, a special criminal court sentenced Mr. Al-Daylami to death. At the time of the communication, he was awaiting execution, as the death sentence required the approval of the President of Yemen, which was still pending. 489. Mr. Al-Daylami’s trial fell short both of international human rights standards and of the standards set forth in Yemen's Constitution. On 30 January 2005, Mr. AlDaylami’s lawyers withdrew from the case having reached the conclusion that the court was unwilling to respect minimum fair trial guarantees. 490. As set out in the court’s decision of 29 May 2005, Mr. Al-Daylami was accused and convicted of two offences: “First, he and another person c onducted intelligence connections with, and worked for the interest of, a foreign state which will harm the political and diplomatic position of the Republic. Secondly, he in association with others, planned to attack the constitutional authority in order to change and restrict it from exercising its powers and then to change the regime; he established an organization called ‘Youth of Sana’a’ to achieve this end….” The decision further states: “Such acts are criminal offences according to Articles 21, 128(1) and 129 of the Presidential Decree No. 12 of 1994 relating to Crimes and Penalties.” The charges against Mr. Al-Daylami were not further specified. It is alleged that the actual reason for the charges against him are his efforts to motivate the public to peacefully protest against detention campaigns that targeted opposition activists. Mr. Al-Daylami had also delivered speeches during public gatherings where he criticized certain policies of the Government such as the failure to respect the law and to com bat corruption. Response from the Government dated 14 December 2005 491. The Government indicated that all the procedures of arrest of Mr. Yahya AlDaylami and his colleague Mohamed Miftah have been carried out in a legal manner and under the supervision of the Attorney General. What is more, neither of the two accused persons has submitted any complaint of mistreatment and one of them is still continuously writing from his cell a column in the “Balagh” newspaper which explains that they are not deprived of their fundamental rights including those to receive visitors and keep continuous contact with them.