Abdul-Rahman al-Iryani, dies at 89

Abdul-Rahman al-Iryani, President of northern Yemen from 1967 to 1974, died Saturday in exile in Syria. He was 89. Mr. Iryani died in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he had lived since 1974. He gained widespread popularity and respect as one of the leaders of the al-Ahrar opposition group, which opposed Yemen's Mutawakilite kings.

Mr. Iryani was sentenced to death by beheading in 1955 for his activities with al-Ahrar, Arabic for ''the free.'' Minutes before his execution by sword, he was granted a reprieve by Imam Ahmad bin Yahya Hamidaddin.

Mr. Iryani spent more than 15 years in prison during the rule of the Mutawakilite, which ended in 1962. He served as minister of religious endowments under northern Yemen's first national government and is the only civilian to have led northern Yemen.

Source: New York Times