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