Yemen president refuses to extradite ultraconservative leader accused of financing al-Qaida

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's president has refused to extradite the head of an ultraconservative political party who the United States has accused of financing al-Qaida.

In a statement aired on state television Sunday, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi denounced the charges and said his government had informed the U.S. it will not hand over citizens to any foreign country, including Abd al-Wahhab Muhammad Abd al-Rahman Humayqani, secretary general of the Yemeni Rashad Union, the country's first ultraconservative Salafi party.

In December, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Humayqani, accusing him of having used his position as head of a Yemen-based charity to send funds to the group al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. He also is accused of facilitating financial transfers from al-Qaida supporters in Saudi Arabia to Yemen.