President Saleh refuses Blair request to release prisoners

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Wednesday received a message from British Prime Minister Tony Blair relating to bilateral relations, areas of joint cooperation as well as matters of mutual concern.

AFP quoted the British ambassador to Yemen, Victor Henderson, who delivered the message to the Yemeni president as saying that Saleh refused his country's request to release two Britons who were sentenced under terrorism charges, adding that the Yemeni president stressed "justice will take its due role."

The British ambassador added, "I have discussed with the Yemeni president the possibility of releasing the two Britons under the court of appeals sentence its decision," but the Yemeni president considered this matter as belonging to the court of appeals.