Yemeni parliament approves draft law adding article related to criminalization of insulting prophets, messengers

SANAA, May 13 (YPA) – The House of Representatives in Sanaa approved a draft law for the year 2020 adding an article to Republican Decree Law No. 12 of 1994 regarding crimes and punishments.

This comes in light of the report of the joint committee from the committees for codifying the provisions of Islamic Sharia and justice and endowments.

Article (259) stipulates:

A – Anyone who despises or insults one of the prophets or messengers in word or deed by any means whatsoever shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years, after verifying this.

B – Without prejudice to the liability of the natural person, the legal person in whose name, through him, for his benefit or on his account the crime stipulated in the previous paragraph was committed shall be punished with a fine of not less than 10 million riyals, and the court may, in the event of a return, order the suspension of the activity of the legal person for a period not exceeding one year.

C – The person responsible for the actual management of the legal person shall be punished with the same penalty prescribed for the crime in Paragraph (A) of this Article if the crime is committed in the name of the legal person and for its benefit by one of its employees, once it is proven that the official is aware of or satisfied with this.

The House also approved the committee’s recommendation to add jurisdiction to the Yemeni courts with regard to examining this crime to the provisions of Article (294) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

YPA