Reliable sources told Yemen Times that more than 104 Yemeni detainees were released last week by the authorities. The 104 released men had been arrested on the pretext of tracking down terrorists in Yemen. Their release came after several appeals by families of the suspects and intervention by non-governmental organizations. Al-Qaeda sympathizers had previously issued statements threatening to kill top security officers and commit acts of sabotage against the US interests in Yemen if the Government refused to release 173 listed detainees.

However, the Al-Qaeda suspect who escaped recently from prison was captured last week while hiding in one of his friends' houses in Aden, indicating that the security forces are now using more efficient investigation techniques to track down suspects.

Official sources said that the Yemeni authorities have conducted an accurate and comprehensive investigation with regard to al-Qaeda sympathizers suspected of having perpetrated terrorist acts. Those who are involved in terrorist activities will be judicially tried. Those who are not found guilty will be released. This follows the FBI's removal of 6 persons from a list of 17 suspects thought to have been involved in terrorism. The list was reduced when Basheer Ali Ashedadi, Ahmed al-Khedr al-Baidhani and Esam Ahmed Dabwan al-Mekhlafi detained by the Political Security Office a year ago were released. They were detained before the September 11th attacks in the US. The fate of three other convicts, Abdulaziz Mohammed Saleh, Moshhour A. Mogbill and Ameen Sa'ad Mohammed, is still unknown. Names of other suspect terrorists mentioned by the FBI include Ramzi bin Ashaiba, Fowaz al-Boraee, Ayaan al-Waeli, Abdurab al-Saifi, Bassam Annahdi, Omar al-Hubaishi and Sameer al-Maqtari, all of whom are believed to have links to the September 11th attacks.

Three more convicts, Ali Mohammed, Mohammed al-Bokhait and Mostafa Shaher, were released by the Yemeni authorities though they belonged to the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, were convicted of robbery and banditry and were sentenced to 5 to 10 years in prison.

In a letter sent last Saturday to President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Haj Mohammed Mubarak Adhban, one of the most prominent businessmen in Yemen and Chairman of the Adhnan Trading Corporation demanded the President's intervention to stop an assault on their warehouses in Aden.

The letter said: "The officials at the Yemen Economic Corporation (YECO) ordered their soldiers to seal our stores' doors in Aden and those soldiers have indeed stormed into the stores destroying doors and messing up the warehouses' content."

Interviewed by Yemen Times, Haj Adhban said: "We were given notice to empty all our stores on Mu'alla Street in Aden so that they can be used to exhibit products of YECO in the city. We called the governor of Aden and demanded steps to stop this, but so far no action has been taken."

The letter to the President said that armed soldiers who did not belong to any official authority or establishment caused great damage to the stores and to the reputation of the corporation. It continued: "We appeal to you to order the Government of Aden and YECO to return our stores that were occupied by the soldiers. We also request compensation for all the damage that was caused by the attack, which cannot be justified by any laws or regulations because such improper and illegal action only results in chaos and discourages investment... Such acts will definitely cause concern about assets and will prevent investment in the country."

Yemen Times contacted YECO officials about this incident and was told that the Adhban Corporation has no rights to the warehouse concerned and has not been paying YECO rent for several years totaling millions of rials.

YECO sources in Aden - speaking on condition of anonymity - said: "As for the claimed military assault, it was a legitimate action on orders from the Aden security office because Adhban Corporation failed to pay us the due rent for two years. YECO owns the [warehouse] because it owns all the property of the former Local Trade Company and we have a legal contract signed by Adhban Corporation and us, which can be used in any legal confrontation. We only used force after we ran out of options. We told Adhban Corporation to pay the due amount because, as a governmental body, we need to make sure that all Government properties are utilized for the benefit of the people."

According to Adhban however, there is no legal dispute over the ownership of the stores because Adhban Corporation owned the stores before they were nationalized by the socialist regime in South Yemen. The regime then gave them to the Local Trade Company whose properties were transferred to YECO after unification. However, the Adhban group was gradually able to regain its property and after unification [between North and South Yemen] various landed property in Aden was returned to its original owners - including the Adhban Corporation. According to Haj Adhban, YECO refused to accept this fact and attempted to take over the properties of the corporation by force. "With no court verdicts or any official orders, the YECO forces stormed into our stores despite the fact that we have all evidence to prove our ownership. Does this mean that the YECO is stronger than the law and stronger than the state?"

When asked whether there were old disputes between the corporation and YECO, Haj Adhban replied, "Though we have complained about the illegal competition from YECO, which imports our branded products with no custom fees and sells them to the public at cheaper prices without permission from the manufacturing companies, we believe that what happened in Aden was not related to this dispute." "We should all respect the law and such actions should stop for the sake of future investments in Yemen because they damage the country's reputation."

Similar incidents have occurred frequently in the recent past in several regions in Yemen and often the involvement and intervention of high-ranking officials including the President were needed to end the dispute.