YEMENI TERRORIST ROLL-CALL: BADAWI STILL IN JAIL,

S E C R E T SANAA 000407

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

WHITE HOUSE PLEASE PASS NSC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/23/2018
TAGS: PGOV PTER PREL YM
SUBJECT: YEMENI TERRORIST ROLL-CALL: BADAWI STILL IN JAIL,
BANNA POSTS BOND, AL-QUSO RELEASED IN 2007

REF: SANAA 00314

Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission Angie Bryan, per reasons 1.4(b)
and (d)


1. (U) Jaber al-Banna, a Yemeni-American among the FBI's
most wanted terrorism suspects and who was indicted in 2002
in the United States for "providing material support to
terrorists" (reftel),posted bond at a Yemeni security court
on March 9. He is due back in court on March 23.


2. (S/NF) Al-Banna's latest appearance comes less than a
week after the ROYG Political Security Organization (PSO)
reluctantly and unofficially confirmed to PolMil that Fahd
al-Quso, one of the convicted co-conspirators (along with
Jamal al-Badawi) in the USS Cole bombing, had been released
from prison in May 2007. The PSO asserted that al-Quso had
served enough of his sentence to qualify for parole, but that
the PSO is monitoring him. (Note: According to our
calculations, al-Quso has served roughly six of his ten
years. End note.)


3. (S/NF) Al-Quso was arrested by the ROYG in 2000 in
connection with the USS Cole bombing and was allegedly the
one who videotaped the attack. He was held in a PSO prison
in Aden until 2003, when he (along with several others,
including al-Badawi) escaped and was on the run for a little
over a year. He was indicted in May 2003 at the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of New York for
unlawfully and knowingly killing U.S. nationals. He was
recaptured and convicted by the ROYG in 2004 and sentenced to
10 years, but with credit for time served between 2000-2003.


4. (S/NF) On a more positive note, when Emboffs conducted a
surprise visit to the PSO prison in Sana'a on March 10, they
found Jamal al-Badawi exactly where he should be -- behind
bars.


5. (S/NF) COMMENT: The ROYG continues to withhold
information from the Embassy on such releases. The Embassy
did not find out that al-Quso had been released in May 2007
until a February 2008 newspaper article on al-Banna
referenced the release of an individual whose name resembled,
but didn't match, al-Quso's. The striking similarity
prompted Emboffs to follow up with the PSO, who only very
reticently unofficially admitted that they had in fact
released al-Quso ten months ago. They were clearly unhappy
that we made the connection from the press article. END
COMMENT

SECHE