Thousands rally to demand release of Yemeni cleric from US jail

Jun 18, 2009, 13:32 GMT

Sana'a, Yemen - Thousands of people attended a rally in Sana'a on Thursday to call for the release of a prominent Yemeni cleric and his assistant from US custody.

The protesters gathered in a football stadium holding up posters of Sheikh Muhammad al-Moayyad and his assistant Muhammad Zayed, who are currently serving custodial sentences in the United States for alleged complicity with al-Qaeda.

The two men were arrested in Germany in 2003 and extradited to the United States. A US court sentenced al-Moayyad in 2005 to 75 years in prison and Zayed to 45 years over alleged financial support to al- Qaeda.

Protesters carried banners condemning the continued detention of the two men and demanded their repatriation to their country.

'Obama! We need action, not just words,' read one placard. 'Detention of the innocent is a violation of international laws and convenants,' read another.

The rally was attended by political leaders from the ruling GPC party and opposition parties.

A US Court of Appeals overturned the convictions last October and ordered a retrial because of inflammatory testimony about unrelated terrorism cases in the first trial. Yemen has repeatedly called for the release of the two men.