YEMEN UNITES IN CELEBRATION OF AL-MOAYAD'S RELEASE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 001485 SIPDIS FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/PPD E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2019 TAGS: PTER KPAO KDRG YM SUBJECT: YEMEN UNITES IN CELEBRATION OF AL-MOAYAD'S RELEASE Classified By: Ambassador Stephen Seche for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). SUMMARY ¶1. (U) The Yemeni press was unanimously ecstatic at the news that terrorist financier Sheikh Mohamed al-Moayad and his assistant Mohamed Zayd have been released from U.S. custody. Official press sought to cast the release as the personal achievement of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, while independent reports suggested that the release signals a positive change in the U.S.-Yemeni relationship. Many press reports scrupulously avoided any mention of the pair's guilty plea, instead suggesting (and in some cases outright stating) that U.S. authorities decided to set Moayad and Zayd free due to the prosecution's lack of evidence. A large celebratory crowd greeted the pair upon their arrival at the Sanaa airport on August 11. Moayad and Zayd's release has stoked expectations in some quarters that Yemeni nationals held at Guantanamo will be repatriated in the near future. END SUMMARY. HAIL TO THE CHIEF ¶2. (U) Yemen's official media emphasized the role of President Ali Abdullah Saleh in securing the release of terrorist financier Sheikh Mohamed al-Moayad and his assistant Mohamed Zayd. Al-Thawra, the largest official daily newspaper, reported on August 7 that the release "came as a result of the efforts exerted by President Saleh" and other Yemeni officials who demanded the pair's release "because of the absence of any evidence provided against (Moayad and Zayd)." The article did not mention the guity plea. 26 September, the Ministry of Defense's newspaper, described on August 7 a letter sent by Zayd's family to President Saleh. The letter said that President Saleh's efforts to secure the pair's release are evidence of "his generosity as a leader and a human being towards his people." Al Motamar, the newspaper of the ruling General People's Congress (GPC),quoted MP Sinan Ajee describing President Saleh as the "compassionate father of all the sons of Yemen," adding that "his efforts always promote the interests of the homeland and its citizens, and the President's efforts on behalf of Moayad and Zayd are a secret to no one." On August 10, government station Yemen TV described a telephone conversation between FBI Director Robert Mueller and President Saleh in which Mueller was said to have cited Saleh's personal efforts as the main reason for the pair's release. RARE PRAISE FOR THE U.S. ¶3. (C) Outside of the official press, Saleh's role in the release was portrayed as much less central. On August 8, the Islah party's newspaper Al-Sahwa reported that the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) "consider (the release to be) a result of broad popular efforts" and described it as a "good sign from the new U.S. administration." Independent website Marib Press quoted the spokesman of the Yemeni Embassy in Washington, Mohammed al-Basha, saying that "the Embassy has noticed a significant positive change after the inauguration of Barack Obama." Basha praised the cooperation between the Yemeni Embassy and the U.S. Department of Justice in securing the pair's release. In an August 8 op-ed in News Yemen, Nasser al-Rabiy'iy described the pair's release as a "victory for justice and human rights." He said that the "American court system deserves respect, and deserves to be a model for everyone in this world that is exploding with violence because of injustice." Minister of Endowments Judge Hamoud al-Hittar told the Ambassador on August 10 that the release will have a "positive impact" on U.S.-Yemeni relations and said the decision demonstrated "a commitment to justice ... any person (in the U.S. justice sytem) will be treated with fairness and impartiality." GUILTY OF BEING INNOCENT ¶4. (U) A few independent newspapers reported the guilty plea. Al Masdar reported that "Moayad confessed that he intended to send money to people from Hamas." (Note: There is broad popular support for Hamas in Yemen; almost no one in Yemen views materially supporting Hamas as a criminal act. End Note.) News Yemen also described the terms of the plea bargain. However, an August 7 story in Al-Sahwa described a "ruling of innocence" issued by the court in New York. Most reports simply stated that the U.S. had decided to "set free" Moayad and Zayd. A FESTIVE ARRIVAL ¶5. (U) Local media reported Moayad and Zayd's flight itinerary well in advance, and imams, journalists and other opinion-leaders encouraged people to gather at the airport and to line the airport road. Al-Sahwa reported on August 10 that "hundreds" of people had traveled to the capital for the reception, to "reiterate to the world the pair's innocence." Banners with Moayad and Zayd's pictures proclaiming the "day of freedom" were widely distributed. Media contacts reported that these banners were displayed on ROYG military vehicles as well, and News Yemen estimated the size of the crowd at "tens of thousands." A convoy of tens of cars reportedly carried Moayad from the airport to the University of Science and Technology Hospital in Sanaa for a medical checkup. FOCUS MOVES TO GUANTANAMO ¶6. (C) Moayad and Zayd's release is being welcomed by many contacts as a "first step" to the repatriation of all Yemenis held by the U.S. on terrorism charges. Al Sahwa on August 8 quoted Mohamed Naji Alau, the general coordinator of HOOD, an NGO that has lobbied on behalf of Yemeni detainees overseas, saying, "Our joy at the return of Moayad and Zayd shouldn't make us forget the tragedy of the Guantanamo detainees." Multiple sources reported Yemeni Human Rights Minister Huda al-Ban's call on August 8 for the release of Yemeni detainees from Guantanamo and other U.S. facilities. Judge Hittar followed up his August 10 comments to the Ambassador on Moayad by insisting that Yemeni nationals in Guantanamo return to Yemen to be rehabilitated through his "dialogues" program. COMMENT ¶7. (U) Although official media could not resist parlaying this story into a public relations offensive for President Saleh, Moayad's release occasioned a rare unison in the tone of reporting across the spectrum of Yemeni news outlets. Reports were celebratory and indicative of a substantive improvement in the U.S.-Yemeni relationship. The pair's release also occasioned something even rarer: praise in Yemen for the U.S. justice system. This praise, however, is likely to fade quickly as local attention quickly returns to the ongoing saga of Yemen's remaining Guantanamo detainees. END COMMENT. SECHE