LEAD: Saleh returns to Yemen, issues general amnesty

Nov 27, 2011, 18:30 GMT

Sana'a- Yemen's outgoing president Ali Abdullah Saleh returned home Sunday from Saudi Arabia, where he had signed a deal ceding power to his deputy.

Hours after his sudden return, Saleh issued a general amnesty for some of his opponents, state television reported.

'The president of the republic has decreed a general amnesty for all those who have committed mistakes during the crisis,' the broadcaster said.

The pardon does not include those suspected of involvement in an attack on Saleh in his palace in early June, according to the report.

Yemeni opposition groups said, however, that Saleh had no longer the authority to issue decrees, having already transferred power to his deputy under the Gulf-brokered deal to step down in return for immunity from prosecution.

Saleh's homecoming coincided with mass protests across the Arabian Peninsula country against the decision to grant him immunity from prosecution.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that Saleh would initially head to New York for medical treatment. Unconfirmed media reports have said that Saleh will settle down in an Arab Gulf country after his return from the United States.

His return on Sunday angered protesters, who accuse him of having ordered a deadly crackdown on his opponents, hundreds of whom have been killed since February.

They demand that Saleh - who has ruled for 33 years - and his senior aides be prosecuted.

'Saleh is taking risks by coming back,' said protester Murad Qaed in the capital Sana'a. 'He deserves to be sent to the gallows for his crimes.'

Vice President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi on Sunday chose opposition leader Mohamed Basindwa to form a new government, broadcaster Al Jazeera reported, without giving further details.

Basindwa was one of the opposition leaders who signed the power transfer deal with Saleh on Wednesday, in a bid to end 10 months of bloody violence in the country.

Under the terms of the deal, Saleh is to transfer power to Hadi within 30 days, followed by a presidential election 90 days later.

Hadi announced Saturday that the presidential election will be held on February 21.