As Yemenis are celebrating the early release from prison of Abdul Ilah Haydar Shae following an intense and protracted rights campaign, the United States of America expressed both its disappointment and concerns over President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi's decision.
Back in 2011 when then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh showed signs he would grant the investigative journalist a presidential pardon for his indiscretion (Shaye uncovered in 2009 that the Majalla bombing for which President Saleh claimed responsibility had in fact been conducted by the US military), US President Barack Obama directly demanded that Shaye be left to serve the reminder of his sentence alleging matters of national security.
Even though Shaye was appointed by then-President Saleh to report on al-Qaeda, and thus asked to approach terror militants and their supporters in order to produce comprehensive reports, Washington has argued his links to the group and his knowledge proved he was a terror collaborator.
Shaye managed during his posting as Yemen's top terror investigative journalist to interview top al-Qaeda figures, such as American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, now deceased, something Washington has used to tarnish his image, alleging he was promoting terrorism instead of reporting it.
The US has made no secret it wishes to see Shaye stays behind bars, something the administration sought President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi understood.