Mohamed Omar Haji, 27, was arrested several times in January of this year. Police allegedly beat and threatened to kill him in order to force him to recant during interrogation at the al-Tawahi police station in Aden. He has since been brought before a court at least twice and charged with apostasy (turning away from Islam). Unless Mohamed Omar Haji proclaims before an open court that he has returned to Islam, Yemeni law says his offence is punishable by death .

Amnesty International's Urgent Action circulars alert a world-wide letter-writing network whose members write thousands of letters on behalf of hundreds of Amnesty's most urgent individual cases every year. More information about Amnesty's Urgent Action network is available from the organisation's UK headquarters on tel: 020 7814 6200.