YEMENIS CONTINUE TO HOPE FOR THE RETURN OF SHEIKH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 002364 SIPDIS SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER YM SUBJECT: YEMENIS CONTINUE TO HOPE FOR THE RETURN OF SHEIKH AL-MOAYED REF: A. SANAA 2082 ¶B. SANAA 2265 Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Sheikh al-Moayed recently sent a letter to President Saleh asking him to sign an "extradition treaty" with the United States. A ROYG source clarified that, if al-Moayed understood the meaning of extradition and its illegality under the Yemeni constitution, he would not have requested it. This letter appears before a backdrop of intense hope among some in Yemen for the return of al-Moayed to his home country. The strong feelings of support for him would likely lead to an increase in anti-American sentiment if he were to die in U.S. custody. A SURPRISE REQUEST FROM AL-MOAYED -------------- ¶2. (C) Since December 26, Yemeni independent and government media sources have been reporting that convicted terrorist financier Sheikh Mohammed Ali al-Moayed wrote a letter to President Saleh asking him to sign an "extradition treaty" with the United States that would allow him to return to Yemen to serve the remainder of his sentence. Press reports indicate that December 28 sermons in Sana'a's Grand Mosque were devoted to al-Moayed's case. Assistant Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid al-Akwa confirmed to PolOff on December 29 that the President had received the letter. He was quick, however, to specify that al-Moayed's supporters did not understand the full meaning of an extradition treaty. (Comment: This would seem to imply that al-Akwa did not believe that al-Moayed had written the letter himself. End Comment.) He further added that, if they had understood the impossibility of signing such an agreement under the Yemeni Constitution, they never would have suggested it. ¶3. (C) Ahmed Arman of the National Organization for Rights and Freedoms (HOOD) confirmed to PolOff on December 29 that his organization is in possession of a copy of the letter. In spite of the fact that the organization's head, Mohammed Naji Alaw, is al-Moayed's lawyer, Arman said that HOOD has no idea what inspired al-Moayed to send the letter at this time. The ROYG recently ratified a prisoner transfer treaty with Spain. It is possible that this news was the inspiration for al-Moayed's message. (Note: The Spanish DCM clarified on December 29 that the treaty would allow only for the return of convicted non-Yemenis to Spain and that any such transfer would require agreement from both governments and the prisoner himself. End Note.) HEARTFELT PLEAS -------------- ¶4. (C) On December 12, a delegation led by HOOD Deputy Director Khaled al-Anisi and Abbas al-Moayed, Mohamed al-Moayed's brother, met with PolOff to deliver a request that the case be reexamined. Al-Anisi began by asserting that all of Yemen is united in believing that al-Moayed could never have knowingly financed terrorism, saying that al-Moayed's teachings had always eschewed violence and that he was the first person in Yemen to publicly condemn al-Qaeda and what it stands for. He emphasized that the delegation was not asking that the U.S. courts reach a specific verdict but only that they examine the case again. He said that the verdict is causing some in the region to believe that the U.S. is no longer fighting a war on terror but is fighting a war on Islam. Al-Anisi claimed that some figures in the ROYG had recently been saying that President Bush has told President Saleh that he will release al-Moayed "when the time is right." ¶5. (C) Also among the delegates was Abdul-Rahman al-Bukiri of the Yemeni Bar Association, who reiterated al-Anisi's assertion that everyone in Yemen believes al-Moayed to be innocent. Ahmed Naji Ahmed, the Secretary General of the Yemeni Writers and Authors Union, lamented that the fact that al-Moayed was tried in New York, the location of the 9/11 attacks, biased the case. He went on to say that the delegation views the U.S. as a just country that cares about rights and freedoms and hopes that the case will be resolved. The other members of the delegation representing organizations as diverse as the Yemeni Doctors' Syndicate and the Union of Women's Forum all repeated roughly the same message. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) There are many among the Yemeni people, press and government who continue to believe that Sheikh al-Moayed is innocent (reftels),and who continue to hope for al-Moayed's return to Yemen. In this atmosphere, any story that hints at his possible return becomes instantly newsworthy. His death, should it occur in U.S. custody, will likely lead to a surge in anti-American feelings (ref B). SECHE