LATEST ROYG THINKING ON BADAWI, FORUM

S E C R E T SANAA 002325 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2017 TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL YM SUBJECT: LATEST ROYG THINKING ON BADAWI, FORUM Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Taking advantage of scheduled meetings at the MFA for visiting Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism Rickman, Ambassador met privately with Foreign Minister Qirbi and Deputy Foreign Minister al-Dhabbi December 17 to reinforce the message delivered last week to ROYG Ambassador al-Hajjri by APHSCT Fran Townsend regarding our demand for custody of Jamal al-Badawi. End Summary. ¶2. (C) Noting his return to Washington this evening and expectation that he would be able to discuss Badawi and a rescheduled Forum for the Future with senior officials while there, the Ambassador met separately with Foreign Minister Qirbi and Deputy Foreign Minister al-Dhabbi on December 17. In response to Qirbi's direct question regarding plans for the Forum, the Ambassador stated that in the absence of resolution of the Badawi case ) which in our view required surrendering him to our custody - it appeared extremely unlikely that the Secretary would be able to attend a re-scheduled Forum. The Ambassador added that the tentative date of February 5 has been offered with the expectation that the ROYG will use the intervening time to come up with a proposal for surrendering Badawi, thus enabling the Secretary to attend the event, as she would like to do. Qirbi responded by noting that it is impossible for the ROYG to begin to invite other foreign ministers with "a question mark" surrounding the Secretary's participation, because that would quickly produce the same set of problems that plagued the planning for the first Forum. Qirbi also bemoaned the fact that Germany continues to resist requests to co-chair a rescheduled Forum, calling its insistence that the responsibility falls to Japan "unfair." He added that the Sana'a Movenpick Hotel has presented the ROYG with a bill for $258,000 for expenses resulting from the postponed Forum, noting that the USG had agreed to pay $100,000 of those costs and to solicit support from other G-8 member states to make up the balance. Qirbi asked the Ambassador to follow up on this reimbursement. ¶3. (S) On the issue of surrendering Badawi to US custody, Qirbi said that "there is nothing much that can be done," given the constitutional prohibition against extradition, although he noted that APHSCT Townsend's suggestion of returning Sheikh al-Moayad to Yemen in some sort of prisoner exchange for Badawi might be worth pursuing if it "would not violate the (Yemeni) Constitution." He added that the ROYG was fully prepared to ensure Badawi's continued incarceration in Sana'a, with a mutually agreed-upon mechanism for monitoring his whereabouts. He also expressed willingness to travel to Washington himself to discuss these issues, and to welcome a USG delegation in Sana'a for direct talks, including with President Saleh. ¶4. (C) In a subsequent meeting, D/FM al-Dhabbi was more pointed in his assessment that Yemen's current political and security situation makes it "impossible" for the President to surrender Badawi to US custody. Noting the continuing hostilities in Saada Governorate, political unrest in the south, and increasingly sharp criticism from the opposition Islah Party, al-Dhabbi said that President Saleh had to be particularly scrupulous that he did nothing to further agitate the domestic political situation, which surrender of Badawi to US custody would almost certainly do. Al-Dhabbi acknowledged that the way the ROYG managed the Badawi affair has led to a loss of trust on the part of the USG, but urged Washington to avoid allowing Badawi to define our C/T dialogue. "We are working hard to apprehend al-Qaeda extremists and foreign fighters going to Iraq," he asserted, adding, "these are the issues we should be discussing." ¶5. (S) Comment. Today's conversations produced little new in terms of any serious consideration by the ROYG regarding a mechanism that would allow it to send Jamal al-Badawi to the US to stand trial. For his part, the Foreign Minister almost seemed resigned to the fact that the Secretary will not/not attend the rescheduled Forum and that, given her absence and other impediments, the event itself might not even take place. The one inkling of ROYG consideration of a possible solution, Qirbi's remark regarding Sheikh al-Moayad, presents a raft of legal issues in both countries that would have to be resolved before it might ever become a viable vehicle through which to gain custody. End Comment. SECHE