YEMEN: 2005 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 003483 SIPDIS S/CT RHONDA SHORE, S/CT ED SALAZAR, NCTC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER PREL ASEC KTFN YM COUNTER TERRORISM TERFIN SUBJECT: YEMEN: 2005 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM REF: STATE 193439 ¶1. Below is Embassy Sanaa's submission for the 2005 Country Report on Terrorism. A copy of this report has been forwarded to S/CT POCs via e-mail. ¶2. Begin text. In 2005, the Republic of Yemen continued to provide support for the global war on terrorism and took action against al-Qaida and local extremists, arresting several individuals suspected of having al-Qaida ties and prosecuting the perpetrators of several terrorist acts. On February 26, an appeals court upheld verdicts against six al-Qaida members for their role in the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Aden that killed 17 US sailors and injured ¶35. The original September 2004 verdict had been appealed by both the defense and the prosecution, the latter arguing that some of the sentences were too light. The appeals court upheld one death sentence against ringleader Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who was tried in absentia. The court commuted another death sentence for Jamal al-Badawi to 15 years. The prosecution failed to secure harsher sentences for the other convicted al-Qaida members, whose original sentences ranged from five - ten years. On August 22, the Supreme Court upheld all six sentences. On February 6, the Sanaa Appellate Court upheld the convictions against 15 al-Qaida members for the October 2002 attack on the French tanker M/V Limburg, the murder of a Ministry of Interior officer during the November 2002 attack on an oil company helicopter, a plot to attack the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority, a plot to attack four foreign embassies in Sanaa and to kill the US Embassy, and for forging documents for the purpose of carrying out terrorism. The appeals court re-sentenced one defendant to death (from a ten year sentence),awarded harsher sentences for two defendants, and upheld the remaining sentences. The case is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. On April 23, the Yemeni Supreme Court upheld the 2003 death sentences of Ali Ahmed Mohamed Jarallah and Abed Abdulrazak al-Kamel for the December 30, 2002 shootings of three American citizens in Jibla. Jarallah was executed in November. No date has been set for al-Kamel,s execution. Yemeni security forces continued to arrest and try suspected members of al-Qaida and other terrorists groups. In August, the Sanaa Primary Court convicted six al-Qaida members for planning attacks against the British and Italian Embassies and the French Cultural Center. The ringleader, Anwar al-Jilani, received a four year sentence, with the remaining five receiving sentences from two years to 40 months. In June, the Sanaa Appellate Court found 11 suspected al-Qaida suspects not guilty of planning attacks on undisclosed targets in Yemen and abroad. The prosecution had alleged the defendants trained in Afghanistan and were planning to travel to Iraq to fight against US-led coalition forces. In August, the Sanaa Primary Court began trying 34 supporters of the slain rebel Shia cleric Hussein Al-Houthi for planning terrorist attacks against Yemeni military sites and the US Ambassador. In December, the Sanaa court also began trying two individuals, Hizam al-Mass and Khalid al-Halilah, for a 2004 plot to assassinate the US Ambassador. Yemen has expressed a willingness to fight international terrorists and deny its territory as a safe haven for terrorist activity. Yemen continues to increase its maritime security capabilities with the support of the US Government through extensive training and donated equipment to the Yemeni Coast Guard. Coast Guard operations are expanding to stem the use of Yemen as a way station for smuggling of persons, drugs, weapons, and explosives. US Government support for the Central Security Forces - Counter Terrorism Unit, Yemen's premier counter terrorism force, also strengthened Yemen,s ability to deny terrorists safe haven. Land border security along Yemen,s extensive frontier with Saudi Arabia remains a major concern, despite increased Yemeni-Saudi cooperation on bilateral security issues. The Government's capacity for stemming terrorism financing remains limited. In 2004, the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee designated prominent Yemeni Sheikh Abd al-Majid al-Zindani for his association with al-Qaida. The Yemeni government has taken no action to bar his travel or to freeze his assets in compliance with its UN obligations. In December, al-Zindani accompanied President Saleh to an Organization of the Islamic Conference meeting in Saudi Arabia. Yemen utilized its Islamic Dialogue Committee, headed by a leading judge, to continue its dialogue with detainees arrested for connections to terrorist groups and extremist elements. The government releases detainees it considers to be rehabilitated, after they pledge to uphold the Yemeni constitution and laws, the rights of non-Muslims, and the inviolability of foreign interests. No comprehensive program exists to monitor recidivism rates. An undisclosed number of released detainees from previous years have reportedly traveled to Iraq to participate in attacks against Coalition forces. Several terrorist organizations continued to maintain a presence in Yemen throughout 2005. HAMAS and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are recognized as legal organizations, and HAMAS maintains offices in Yemen. Neither organization has engaged in any known terrorist activities in Yemen, and PIJ does not have any known operational presence. HAMAS conducts extensive fundraising through mosques and other charitable organizations throughout the country. In December, HAMAS leader Khaled Mishal visited Sanaa and met publicly with President Saleh. While al-Qaida,s operational structure in Yemen has been weakened and dispersed, concerns remain about the organization's attempts to reconstitute operational cells in Yemen. Krajeski