ESTABLISHING THE FACTS IN IBB

UNCLAS SANAA 001105 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA, NEA/ARP, NEA/EX, S/CT, CA, DS/DSS, DS/IP/NEA, DS/DSS/ITA, DS/ICI/PII, CENTCOM FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC PTER YM COUNTER TERRORISM SUBJECT: ESTABLISHING THE FACTS IN IBB REF: SANAA 1099 ¶1. At approximately 0900 on May 14, 2003 an explosion occurred at a courtroom next to Ibb central prison, slightly injuring Judge Haizam Naji Fadl. Fadl was not/not the judge who presided over the recently concluded trial of Mr. Kemal who was convicted of killing three Amcits at the Jibla hospital. Information obtained to date does not indicate a connection with that trial. -------------- MOI: It Was an Accident -------------- ¶2. Ministry of Interior office director Brigadier General Ahmed Sunidar confirmed to RSO that a explosion occurred at in the Court of Appeals next to the Ibb Central Prison, located approximately 125 miles south of Sanaa. According to the initial report by the MOI, a soldier guarding the judge dropped a hand grenade, wounding the judge. This explanation is improbable. Embassy conoff who attended the trial in Jibla reports that he did not see guards carrying grenades. Subsequent accounts indicating that a grenade was thrown into the courtroom are more likely. -------------- Which courtroom was it? -------------- ¶3. AFP reported that the incident occurred in another court than the Jibla trial and that the perpetrator was arrested shortly afterwards. A judge at the same courthouse, reported to a Consular FSN that the explosion took place during a trial that had been moved from Yarim to Ibb for "security reasons." Later, Consular FSN talked to Ibb Prison Warden Mohammed Al-Saidi, who said that the bomb exploded in the same courtroom where the Jibla shooter trial was held. ¶4. Comment: As in the case with previous incidents in Yemen, conflicting reports are common. Post is seeking further clarification with MOI and sources in Ibb. The information available so far does not establish a connection between this incident and the judge in the recently concluded Jibla trail. End Comment. HULL