US embassy cable - 03SANAA2341

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 002341 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, YM, COUNTER TERRORISM 
SUBJECT: YEMEN NATIONAL COURT GIVES DEATH SENTENCE TO 
OPPOSITION LEADER FOR ASSASSINATIONS 
 
REF: A. 02 SANAA 4043 
     B. SANAA 976 
     C. SANAA 1079 
 
Classified By: DCM Alan G. Misenheimer for reasons 1.5 (b and d) 
 
1. (c) On September 15, the Northern Primary Court in Sanaa 
sentenced Ali al-Jarallah to death for the December 28, 2002 
assassination of Jarallah Omar, deputy secretary-general of 
the Yemeni Socialist Party (YSP) (ref a), and plotting the 
December 30 murders of three American medical personnel at a 
hospital in Jibla.  Al-Jarallah was convicted of Omar's 
murder and of creating a terror cell to purchase weapons and 
assassinate local officials and foreigners in early 2003. 
While the hearing on his sentence was pending, the YSP and 
other political organizations requested a more in-depth 
investigation into the financing of al-Jarallah's activities. 
 
 
2. (c) Al-Jarallah's family has complained publicly that the 
investigation was sub-par and that it has not been permitted 
to review the case file.  These concerns were echoed by Human 
Rights Watch (HRW) in a letter sent to President Saleh in 
mid-August 2003.  The letter requested a "special 
investigation. . .to be conducted in a thorough and impartial 
manner, into all aspects of this crime, and to make the 
results public."  The letter noted "serious and widespread 
allegations about possible involvement. . .by government 
security officials and prominent Salifi political figures" in 
addition to its concerns about victim family access to the 
results of the state investigation.  Post is unaware of an 
official ROYG response to this letter to date. 
 
3. (c) Post has not been able to determine whether a 
comprehensive investigation was conducted, but news reports 
indicate that 5-7 accomplices were also convicted and 
sentenced to jail time, while other suspects were acquitted. 
Post anticipates that al-Jarallah will appeal his sentence. 
The YSP has formed a coalition of opposition groups, 
journalists and sympathizers to continue to protest the 
handling of the matter and demand a more public airing of 
al-Jarallah's background and connections. 
 
4. (c) Abed Abdul Razak Kamal was sentenced to death in May 
2003 for the actual murder of the three Americans in Jibla, 
which al-Jarallah is believed to have helped plan (refs b and 
c).  Kamal's trial was held in the governorate of Jibla, at a 
state court level.  In contrast to the Sana'a court, the 
Jibla court proceedings have been open to the public and post 
officials have attended a number of sessions.  Kamal's appeal 
is still pending and is expected to take up to a year. 
 
5. (c) Comment: The motivations for keeping the investigation 
of al-Jarallah's activities and the court proceedings in his 
case under wraps are not obvious.  The prevailing public 
opinion is that the government wanted the matter resolved 
relatively quickly and preferred to treat it as a criminal 
matter rather than investigating it as a political 
assassination or delving too deeply (and publicly) into 
al-Jarallah's potential links to terrorist groups.  The ROYG 
may also be trying to garner favor with the U.S. by quickly 
convicting and sentencing the alleged mastermind of the Jibla 
murders.  End comment. 
HULL