YEMEN NATIONAL COURT GIVES DEATH SENTENCE TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 002341

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2013
TAGS: PGOV PTER YM COUNTER TERRORISM
SUBJECT: YEMEN NATIONAL COURT GIVES DEATH SENTENCE TO
OPPOSITION LEADER FOR ASSASSINATIONS

REF: A. 02 SANAA 4043

B. SANAA 976

C. SANAA 1079

Classified By: DCM Alan G. Misenheimer for reasons 1.5 (b and d)


1. (c) On September 15, the Northern Primary Court in Sanaa
sentenced Ali al-Jarallah to death for the December 28, 2002
assassination of Jarallah Omar, deputy secretary-general of
the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) (ref a),and plotting the
December 30 murders of three American medical personnel at a
hospital in Jibla. Al-Jarallah was convicted of Omar's
murder and of creating a terror cell to purchase weapons and
assassinate local officials and foreigners in early 2003.
While the hearing on his sentence was pending, the YSP and
other political organizations requested a more in-depth
investigation into the financing of al-Jarallah's activities.



2. (c) Al-Jarallah's family has complained publicly that the
investigation was sub-par and that it has not been permitted
to review the case file. These concerns were echoed by Human
Rights Watch (HRW) in a letter sent to President Saleh in
mid-August 2003. The letter requested a "special
investigation. . .to be conducted in a thorough and impartial
manner, into all aspects of this crime, and to make the
results public." The letter noted "serious and widespread
allegations about possible involvement. . .by government
security officials and prominent Salifi political figures" in
addition to its concerns about victim family access to the
results of the state investigation. Post is unaware of an
official ROYG response to this letter to date.


3. (c) Post has not been able to determine whether a
comprehensive investigation was conducted, but news reports
indicate that 5-7 accomplices were also convicted and
sentenced to jail time, while other suspects were acquitted.
Post anticipates that al-Jarallah will appeal his sentence.
The YSP has formed a coalition of opposition groups,
journalists and sympathizers to continue to protest the
handling of the matter and demand a more public airing of
al-Jarallah's background and connections.


4. (c) Abed Abdul Razak Kamal was sentenced to death in May
2003 for the actual murder of the three Americans in Jibla,
which al-Jarallah is believed to have helped plan (refs b and
c). Kamal's trial was held in the governorate of Jibla, at a
state court level. In contrast to the Sana'a court, the
Jibla court proceedings have been open to the public and post
officials have attended a number of sessions. Kamal's appeal
is still pending and is expected to take up to a year.


5. (c) Comment: The motivations for keeping the investigation
of al-Jarallah's activities and the court proceedings in his
case under wraps are not obvious. The prevailing public
opinion is that the government wanted the matter resolved
relatively quickly and preferred to treat it as a criminal
matter rather than investigating it as a political
assassination or delving too deeply (and publicly) into
al-Jarallah's potential links to terrorist groups. The ROYG
may also be trying to garner favor with the U.S. by quickly
convicting and sentencing the alleged mastermind of the Jibla
murders. End comment.
HULL