Arab father expresses relief after his daughter's rapist is executed

In June, a three-year old Yemeni girl identified by local media as Rana al-Matan was raped and murdered by a 41-year-old Moroccan national. About a month later, the perpetrator was shot to death in a public execution in the country, a first since 2009. 

In the details, Muhammad al-Maghrabi was shot with an AK-style machine gun at point-blank range Monday, in Yemen's capital Sana'a as thousands gathered to watch - sitting atop telegraph poles and rooftops.

The execution was not only witnessed by those who chose to watch. A video of his execution - which was carried out by Houthi rebels - was broadcast across the country on national television, causing quite the stir on social media.

"The public outrage over it may have played a role in the decision to show the execution on TV, as a way of mollifying the victim’s family and portraying the Houthis as vigilant against crime," Shuaib Almosawa and Rick Gladstone wrote in the New York Times.

Following the execution of al-Maghrabi, the young girl's father Yahya al-Matari told Reuters that he felt justice had been served. 

"Justice and the ruling of God and Sharia law have prevailed," he said, according to The Independent. 

"I watched my daughter Rana's killer being executed in Tahrir Square in Sana'a then I went with the men of my family and neighbors and some of the people in the crowd to the hospital where Rana was in the morgue," he added. 

"We took her small body and buried her in the nearby cemetery. My wife Jamileh and I are grateful to God. Justice and the ruling of Allah have been done."

Following the execution, al-Matari expressed relief and satisfaction. 

"I feel as if I have been reborn. This is the first day in my life," he said. "I am relieved now."

A Reuters photographer Khaled Abdullah described the scene in extensive detail.

"Allah is the greatest," the crowd was heard chanting as al-Maghrabi arrived to the scene. 

Abdullah captured powerful photos of the execution, something that did not happen without a fight. 

"The man was escorted from the van to the middle of the square, and then the place turned to a complete chaos and I fought for a position to take pictures," Abdullah said.

Prior to Maghrabi's execution, a judge convicted the 41-year-old of rape and murder by a court run by the Shi'ite Houthi rebels in the capital, receiving a sentence of 100 lashes after admitting to the crime.

Following public outrage, the judge on the case ordered the execution of the 41-year-old. 

In Yemen, all court rulings are based on Sharia law, which states that murder is punishable by the death sentence. The means by which an execution is carried out is not specified under state law, however, beheading is the most common form practiced.