KHAIWANI RELEASED VIA PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000696

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/23/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KMPI YM
SUBJECT: KHAIWANI RELEASED VIA PRESIDENTIAL AMNESTY

REF: SANAA 04 2498

Classified By: CDA Nabeel Khoury for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) On March 22, the Sanaa Appellate Court upheld the
September 6 conviction of "as-Shura" opposition newspaper
editor-in-chief, Abdulkarim al-Khaiwani (reftel). Khaiwani
was sentenced to one year in prison for violating the 1990
Press Law for "supporting" the al-Houthi rebellion,
"publishing reports damaging to the public interests, and
"public humiliation" of the President. In response, the
Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) issued a public appeal
expressing its "extreme disappointment" in the verdict.


2. (C) Despite the March 22 verdict, journalists expressed
optimism the morning of March 23, as rumors rapidly spread
throughout Sanaa that Khaiwani would soon be released by
Presidential decree. Said al-Thabet, deputy chairperson of
the YJS, confirmed the rumor to Poloff saying that he
received "official news" from a "reliable source" that Saleh
has decided to release Khaiwani. Agence France Press and
Al-Arabia correspondent Hamoud Munasser also believes the
information is true, according to information he received
from a member of Judge Hamoud al-Hittar's Committee for
Intellectual and Theological Dialogue. The source informed
Munasser that in a March 23 morning meeting with Hittar's
committee, President Saleh announced that he would issue a
decree ordering Khawani's release as "soon as possible."


3. (C) CDA was told by DFM Noman this morning that Khaiwani
would indeed be released by a presidential pardon to be
announced tomorrow, March 24. "As soon as possible" turned
out to be even earlier, when Judge Hittar announced this
afternoon, on behalf of President Saleh, that Khaiwani is now
a free man.
Khoury