Long awaited verdict would probably approve the most feared:Al-Mouayed expected to be handed to USA [Archives:2003/652/Front Page]

Hassan Al-Zaidi
A verdict ruling in Germany scheduled to be issued today, Monday July 21, will probably result in having the German government hand Al-Mouayed over to the USA after the latter provided evidence linking Al-Mouayed to al-Qaeda.
This comes despite intense efforts by the Yemeni government and leadership to have him sent home for trial. The ruling is expected to trigger a wave of anger among Islah members and Islamic figures, who believe in his innocence and express disbelief in US evidence, which cannot be declared to the public due to international regulations.
Meanwhile, German Ambassador to Yemen demanded German citizens working in the country to be on alert during the current week for any possible reaction that might result out of such a verdict.
The German embassy has repeatedly stated that all the happenings concerning Al-Mouayed's case are subject to international treaties signed with countries including the USA in the field of terrorism. “Those laws are abiding, we simply cannot walk away I hope Yemenis believe in that this does not and should have any effect on our bilateral relationship” a source at the German embassy said.
The German embassy also stressed that Al-Mouayed will not be sent to Guantanamo and will never be sentenced to death according to prior conditions set by the German government.
Islah sources told Yemen Times that handing al-Mouayed over to the USA doesn't mean the end of his case. “There will still be opportunities for advocates to defend him and continue their efforts to prove his innocence,” the source added.
On his part, Mohammed Qahtan of the Islamic Islah Party told the party's mouthpiece Assahwa weekly that the president's statement during his last visit to Germany regarding al-Mouayed's case has merely resulted in an increase of security in German procedures. Qahtan said that efforts exerted so far may not be enough to prevent a verdict that may end up in sending Al-Mouayed to the USA.
He told Yemen Times that the al-Mouayed's advocates had already presented their final defense statements. He demanded that the Yemeni authorities put greater pressures on the USA to set him free along with his associate. “The government should be held accountable for its citizens and not to the party al-Mouayed belongs to,” he said.
The elder son of al-Moayyad hoped that his father would be set free within this week, despite growing chances of having him sent to the USA.
However, a possibility of a further extension of the trial and Al-Mouayed's stay is also there, but it is quite unlikely that he will be returned to Yemen for trial as demanded by the Yemeni authorities.
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