SALEH REQUESTS DETAINEE RELEASE AND RETURN OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000065

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

FOR NEA/ARP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/12/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV YM
SUBJECT: SALEH REQUESTS DETAINEE RELEASE AND RETURN OF
MOAYED

REF: SANAA 60

Classified By: Ambassador Stephen A. Seche for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

Summary
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1. (U) On January 12, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh
handed the Ambassador a letter to President Bush praising the
current Middle East peace initiative and requesting the
release of Yemenis held in Guantanamo. In the meeting, Saleh
also requested that jailed Yemeni cleric Sheikh al-Moayed be
allowed to finish his prison sentence in a Yemeni jail and
pleaded for a reduced USG focus on the case of Jamal
al-Badawi. The timing of Saleh's letter probably reflects
his concern that he is vulnerable to criticism that he has
not done enough to obtain the release of Yemeni detainees.
End Summary.


2. (C) On January 12, the Ambassador met briefly with
President Saleh at the President's palace in Sana'a. Saleh
passed to him a letter for President Bush (ref. A) noting the
President's current visit to the region and ongoing efforts
toward Middle East peace. The letter also requested that the
USG release all Yemeni detainees held at Guantanamo and
return Yemenis serving sentences in US jails to their
homeland to serve out their terms. The Ambassador agreed to
convey the contents of the letter immediately and noted that
the two governments were cooperating on preparations for a
Yemeni delegation to travel next month to Guantanamo to work
toward the possible repatriation of Yemeni detainees.


3. (C) As the Ambassador arrived, President Saleh complained
about the USG's continued focus on convicted USS Cole bombing
conspirator Jamal al-Badawi. "Don't make him a problem -- he
is in jail, you can go see him if you want," Saleh said.
"Every delegation that I see brings him up." The Ambassador
pointed out again that the USG is seeking custody of Badawi
and added that he has been delivering this message since his
initial meeting with Saleh on the topic in October, 2007.


4. (C) Saleh also broached the topic of Sheikh al-Moayed, a
convicted terrorist financier currently in prison in
Colorado. He appealed for the return of Moayed to Yemen to
serve out the remainder of his sentence. In spite of the
obvious similarity to requests included in the body of the
letter, Saleh specified that his comments on Moayed were
separate from the message for President Bush.

Comment
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5. (C) The timing of Saleh's message seems likely to be a
response to a conference on Guantanamo detainees recently
held in Sana'a (septel). On this issue, and on the issue of
Moayed, Saleh probably feels vulnerable to criticism that he
is getting little in return for his friendship with the
United States, and needs to be seen as acting more robustly
to protect Yemeni citizens held in what some see as illegal
custody. His spontaneous outburst on Badawi as the meeting
began likely reveals his frustration that the case almost
certainly contributed to the fact that his friend the U.S.
President was making a high-profile visit to several
neighboring countries without a stop in Sana'a. End Comment.
SECHE