A man convicted of raping and murdering a three-year-old girl was executed in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Monday, July 31 in front of hundreds of onlookers, the first public execution there since 2009.
41-year-old Muhammad al-Maghrabi was shot to death with a rifle in the capital Sanaa as hundreds of onlookers watched on.
The police van transporting al-Maghrabi to Sanaa’s Tahrir Square was escorted by five police patrol vehicles. The execution drew a large number of onlookers, some perched up telegraph poles and many watching from rooftops.
Pictures show him lying on the ground on a rug as a police officer holds an AK47-style weapon against his back and opens fire.
Images of the scene also show huge crowds gathered to watch the execution in the city’s main square and many people following the police truck carrying al-Maghrabi’s dead body after his execution.
Television cameras reportedly broadcast the sentencing across the country.
In Yemen, Sharia law is the source of all legislation, according to the US State Department.
