SANA?A* Oct. 5 ? The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York annulled the verdicts against Sheikh Mohammed Al-Moayad and his companion Mohamed Zayed last Thursday* dismissing their trials in primary court in Brooklyn in 2004 as unjust and politically motivated* according to Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi. In a statement to the state-run Saba news agency* Al-Qirbi said that the new verdict of the U.S. Court of Appeals "confirms the position Yemen adopted from the beginning* which is that the arrests of Al-Moayad and his companion were not made in accordance with international procedures and legislations". He further pointed out that the trial of Sheikh Al-Moayad in the primary court in New York was more motivated by politics than by any desire to realize justice.Al-Qirbi confirmed that the Yemeni government would continue its efforts to release both Al-Moayad and Zayed as soon as possible.Khaled Al-Anisi* Executive Director of the National Organization for Defending Rights and Freedoms known as HOOD* said that the verdict of the U.S. Court of Appeals was to annul the primary court's decision* as the accusations against Al-Moayad and Zayed has not been proven.Al-Anisi added that* according to American law* the American government has the right to resume the trial by filing new accusations* but that* if there were no new accusations against them* Al-Moayad and Zayed would soon be released."It would be difficult for the American government to file new charges since all the charges filed in the primary court have been refuted*" Al-Anisi said* "I believe that the American government will release them soon and no new charges will be filed." Sheikh Mohammad al-Moayad was arrested along with his aide Mohammad Zayed when he traveled to Germany for medical treatment in 2003. The US authorities wanted Sheikh Al-Moayad on suspicion of plotting acts of terrorism and funneling money to al-Qaeda and other foreign terrorist organizations. Al-Moayad and his companion were lured to Germany by informant Mohammed Al-?Ansi who cooperated with the FBI to arrest them. In 2004* Al-?Ansi set himself on fire in front of the White House in an apparent attempted suicide in protest at not receiving the awards he was promised by the US government in return for facilitating Al-Moayad?s arrest.Extradited to the US in 2004* Sheikh Al-Moayad and Zayed were then sentenced to 75 and 45 years in prison and fined USD 2 million by a U.S. primary court in Brooklyn in 2005.The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York reviewed and annulled these verdicts last Thursday* ordering the release of the two Yemenis* if additional accusations were not filed by the U.S. government against them.Sheikh Mohammed Al-Moayad* 75 years old* was the imam of Al-Ehsan Mosque and a prominent charitable figure in the neighborhood of Al-Asbahi in Sana?a before his arrest in 2003. In the area* he is known for having established the Al-Ehsan Mosque* opened a bakery to provide bread for the needy and sponsored group weddings to help the poor get married at low cost....

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