This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 003483 
 
SIPDIS 
 
S/CT RHONDA SHORE, S/CT ED SALAZAR, NCTC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PREL ASEC KTFN YM COUNTER TERRORISM TERFIN
SUBJECT: YEMEN: 2005 COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM 
 
REF: STATE 193439 
 
¶1.  Below is Embassy Sanaa's submission for the 2005 Country 
Report on Terrorism.  A copy of this report has been 
forwarded to S/CT POCs via e-mail. 
 
¶2.  Begin text. 
 
In 2005, the Republic of Yemen continued to provide support 
for the global war on terrorism and took action against 
al-Qaida and local extremists, arresting several individuals 
suspected of having al-Qaida ties and prosecuting the 
perpetrators of several terrorist acts. 
 
On February 26, an appeals court upheld verdicts against six 
al-Qaida members for their role in the October 2000 attack on 
the USS Cole in Aden that killed 17 US sailors and injured 
¶35. The original September 2004 verdict had been appealed by 
both the defense and the prosecution, the latter arguing that 
some of the sentences were too light. The appeals court 
upheld one death sentence against ringleader Abd al-Rahim 
al-Nashiri, who was tried in absentia.  The court commuted 
another death sentence for Jamal al-Badawi to 15 years.  The 
prosecution failed to secure harsher sentences for the other 
convicted al-Qaida members, whose original sentences ranged 
from five - ten years.  On August 22, the Supreme Court 
upheld all six sentences. 
 
On February 6, the Sanaa Appellate Court upheld the 
convictions against 15 al-Qaida members for the October 2002 
attack on the French tanker M/V Limburg, the murder of a 
Ministry of Interior officer during the November 2002 attack 
on an oil company helicopter, a plot to attack the Civil 
Aviation and Meteorology Authority, a plot to attack four 
foreign embassies in Sanaa and to kill the US Embassy, and 
for forging documents for the purpose of carrying out 
terrorism.   The appeals court re-sentenced one defendant to 
death (from a ten year sentence), awarded harsher sentences 
for two defendants, and upheld the remaining sentences.  The 
case is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court. 
 
On April 23, the Yemeni Supreme Court upheld the 2003 death 
sentences of Ali Ahmed Mohamed Jarallah and Abed Abdulrazak 
al-Kamel for the December 30, 2002 shootings of three 
American citizens in Jibla.  Jarallah was executed in 
November.  No date has been set for al-Kamel,s execution. 
 
Yemeni security forces continued to arrest and try suspected 
members of al-Qaida and other terrorists groups.  In August, 
the Sanaa Primary Court convicted six al-Qaida members for 
planning attacks against the British and Italian Embassies 
and the French Cultural Center.  The ringleader, Anwar 
al-Jilani, received a four year sentence, with the remaining 
five receiving sentences from two years to 40 months. 
 
In June, the Sanaa Appellate Court found 11 suspected 
al-Qaida suspects not guilty of planning attacks on 
undisclosed targets in Yemen and abroad.  The prosecution had 
alleged the defendants trained in Afghanistan and were 
planning to travel to Iraq to fight against US-led coalition 
forces. 
 
In August, the Sanaa Primary Court began trying 34 supporters 
of the slain rebel Shia cleric Hussein Al-Houthi for planning 
terrorist attacks against Yemeni military sites and the US 
Ambassador.  In December, the Sanaa court also began trying 
two individuals, Hizam al-Mass and Khalid al-Halilah, for a 
2004 plot to assassinate the US Ambassador. 
 
Yemen has expressed a willingness to fight international 
terrorists and deny its territory as a safe haven for 
terrorist activity.  Yemen continues to increase its maritime 
security capabilities with the support of the US Government 
through extensive training and donated equipment to the 
Yemeni Coast Guard.   Coast Guard operations are expanding to 
stem the use of Yemen as a way station for smuggling of 
persons, drugs, weapons, and explosives.  US Government 
support for the Central Security Forces - Counter Terrorism 
Unit, Yemen's premier counter terrorism force, also 
strengthened Yemen,s ability to deny terrorists safe haven. 
 
Land border security along Yemen,s extensive frontier with 
Saudi Arabia remains a major concern, despite increased 
Yemeni-Saudi cooperation on bilateral security issues. 
 
The Government's capacity for stemming terrorism financing 
remains limited.  In 2004, the UN 1267 Sanctions Committee 
designated prominent Yemeni Sheikh Abd al-Majid al-Zindani 
for his association with al-Qaida.  The Yemeni government has 
taken no action to bar his travel or to freeze his assets in 
compliance with its UN obligations.  In December, al-Zindani 
accompanied President Saleh to an Organization of the Islamic 
Conference meeting in Saudi Arabia. 
 
Yemen utilized its Islamic Dialogue Committee, headed by a 
leading judge, to continue its dialogue with detainees 
arrested for connections to terrorist groups and extremist 
elements. The government releases detainees it considers to 
be rehabilitated, after they pledge to uphold the Yemeni 
constitution and laws, the rights of non-Muslims, and the 
inviolability of foreign interests.  No comprehensive program 
exists to monitor recidivism rates.  An undisclosed number of 
released detainees from previous years have reportedly 
traveled to Iraq to participate in attacks against Coalition 
forces. 
 
Several terrorist organizations continued to maintain a 
presence in Yemen throughout 2005. HAMAS and Palestinian 
Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are recognized as legal organizations, 
and HAMAS maintains offices in Yemen. Neither organization 
has engaged in any known terrorist activities in Yemen, and 
PIJ does not have any known operational presence. HAMAS 
conducts extensive fundraising through mosques and other 
charitable organizations throughout the country. In December, 
HAMAS leader Khaled Mishal visited Sanaa and met publicly 
with President Saleh. While al-Qaida,s operational structure 
in Yemen has been weakened and dispersed, concerns remain 
about the organization's attempts to reconstitute operational 
cells in Yemen. 
Krajeski