HARSHER SENTENCES AWARDED AND APPEALS REJECTED IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000276

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/07/2015
TAGS: PTER PREL ASEC YM COUNTER TERRORISM
SUBJECT: HARSHER SENTENCES AWARDED AND APPEALS REJECTED IN
YEMEN'S TERRORISM TRIAL

REF: A. SANAA 2328

B. SANAA 2535

Classified By: By DCM Nabeel Khoury for reasons 1.4 (d) and (b).


1. (U) In the Yemeni legal system, both defense and
prosecution can appeal a ruling. On February 6 a Sanaa
Appellate Court resentenced one defendant to death (from a
ten year sentence),awarded harsher sentences for two
defendants and upheld the sentences of the remaining
defendants in the group terrorism trial (Ref A). The
defendants are charged with involvement in the 11/02 attack
on the Hunt Oil helicopter, the 10/02 attack on the oil
tanker M/V Limburg, the 08/02 al-Qaddissia explosion and the
2002 plot to assassinate the U.S. Ambassador.


2. (U) After the February 6 decision, three sentences were
amended as follows:

Two sentences were increased from ten to fifteen years in
prison for the 2002 attack on the French tanker M.V. Limburg:

-- Omer Sa'id Jarallah
-- Fawzi al-Hababi

One sentence was increased from ten years to death for
plotting to attack the Civil Aviation and Meteorology
Authority (i.e. Hunt Helicopter attack),the killing of a
Ministry of Interior policeman and for planning to kill the
U.S. Ambassador to Yemen:

-- Fawaz al Rabi'ea


3. (U) The remaining sentences were upheld:

Three sentences of ten years in prison for the 2002 attack on
the French tanker
M.V. Limburg:

-- Mohammed al-Ammari
-- Fawzi al-Wajih
-- Yasser Ali al-Madani

Ten years in prison for plotting to attack the Civil Aviation
and Meteorology Authority (i.e. Hunt Helicopter attack):

-- Abu Bakr al-Rabi'ea

Five years in prison for plotting to attack foreign embassies
in Sanaa and for planning to kill the U.S. Ambassador to
Yemen:

-- Ibrahim al-Howeid
-- Aref Saleh Mujalli
-- Mohammed Ali al-Daylami
-- Qassem al-Rayni
-- Abdul-Ghani Dhayfan

Three years in prison for forging documents (i.e. the
al-Qadissiya explosion):

-- Salim al-Dulaymi
-- Kahled al-Juloab

Death for killing a Ministry of Interior policeman while
fleeing from the attack on the Hunt helicopter:

-- Hizam Mujallad


4. (SBU/NF) Chief Prosecutor, Saeed al-Aqel, told Pol/Econoff
on February 7 that he was surprised at the new verdicts, but
noted that his whole strategy from the beginning was to
concentrate on winning in the appeal process. He added that
he "now felt rested," and expected the Supreme Court to
uphold the amended verdicts. Aqel said he expects a decision
in the USS COLE appeal (Ref B) to be issued on or about March

1.


5. (C) Comment: The Appellate Court's firmer sentence for
Fawaz al-Rabi'ea is a step forward for ROYG CT cooperation in
two ways. One, evidence strongly points to Rabi'ea being one
of two ring leaders for the loosely affiliated al-Qaeda
members in the group trial. The Appellate decision confirms
this view. Second, in sentencing Rabi'ea to death, the court
applied two legal concepts foreign to Yemeni courts:
conspiracy and complicity. This precedent allows the ROYG to
appropriately punish terrorist conspirators in the absence of
a specific terrorism law and could serve as a model for
future cases in Yemen. End comment.
Krajeski