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