YEMEN'S NATIONAL SECURITY BOARD "REVIEWING" GTMO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000137 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2016 TAGS: PREL PTER KAWC YM COUNTER TERRORISM SUBJECT: YEMEN'S NATIONAL SECURITY BOARD "REVIEWING" GTMO DETAINEE FILES REF: SANAA 89 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: AMBASSADOR THOMAS C. KRAJESKI, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND ( D). ¶1. (C) Ambassador met briefly with National Security Board (NSB) Deputy Director Amaar Saleh and FonMin Abubakr al-Qirbi on the margins of a social event on January 24 and urged both to expedite the ROYG's immediate written response to post's November 2005 diplomatic note proposing the transfer of Yemeni Guantanamo detainees. On an earlier occasion, Qirbi had said that the detainee files post had turned over to the MFA had been passed to the NSB and that as soon as the individuals had been thoroughly vetted by ROYG security organizations, the transfer of detainees could begin. ¶2. (C) Qirbi asked Saleh if the NSB had interviewed all of the potential returnees during its visit to Guantanamo in ¶2005. Saleh said he was not sure, but said the NSB was reviewing the files now. Qirbi reiterated his assurances that, once NSB had reviewed each individual, the ROYG would provide a written approval for the detainees' return. Qirbi then opined that many of the cases detailed in the detainees' files did not appear to be very strong, and wondered aloud why the USG had held them so long with seemingly so little evidence against them. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Qirbi's comments may indicate that the ROYG did not find all it may have been looking for in the detainees' files, i.e. concrete evidence of wrongdoing that would give the ROYG credible reasons to keep the detainees in Yemeni prisons. We will more than likely need to raise the issue with President Saleh again as soon as he returns from medical treatment in Germany. Krajeski