* Draft criticised by U.N., rights groups, protesters
* Middle East diplomat says Saleh still to visit U.S.
* Saleh will get full protection, may got to Oman temporarily
* Immunity offer aims to coax Saleh from power (Adds diplomat comments on Saleh plans)
SANAA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - By Mohammed Ghobari and Tom Finn
A Yemeni draft law granting immunity to outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh over the killing of protesters will protect his aides only from "politically motivated" crimes, a copy of the bill obtained by Reuters showed on Friday.
A Middle Eastern diplomat involved in ongoing discussions over Saleh's fate under the plan to ease him out of office told Reuters he was still planning to visit the United States for medical treatment but would not leave Yemen permanently.
Saleh this month reversed a pledge to leave Yemen for the United States, raising questions over his commitment to quit in line with the power transfer plan hammered out by Yemen's wealthier Gulf Arab neighbours and clinched late last year.
The draft immunity law, which is due to be discussed in parliament on Saturday following several delays, has been criticised by protesters, the United Nations and rights groups, among them Human Rights Watch, which described it as a "licence to kill".
But the United States has defended the draft law, which gives Saleh full legal protection, as the only way to coax him from power and end months of protests against his rule that paralysed the impoverished state for most of 2011.
It had previously offered blanket immunity to associates of Saleh as well, but an amended version of the law limited that to protection from prosecution over "politically motivated" crimes committed whilst conducting official duties, except those considered "terrorist acts".
Saleh said last month he would go to the United States to get medical treatment, hours after his forces killed protesters demanding he face trial. Washington said it would consider his visa request, inviting domestic criticism that it would be seen to be shielding him.
But despite party officials saying this month he would not travel after all so as not to hold up the transfer of power, the Middle Eastern diplomat signalled it was still on the cards.
The diplomat also said Saleh's son Ahmed Ali had recently been despatched to the neighbouring sultanate of Oman to explore it as a potential temporary destination for his father.
The immunity offer would cover the 33-year period of Saleh's presidency and could not be cancelled or appealed against.
"The law is good - it will ensure the exit of Ali Abdullah Saleh and it will give people the right to pursue those involved in killing and corruption before the court," said a resident of the capital Sanaa, Khaled Hashim.
SOLDIERS KILLED IN SOUTHERN ATTACK
Rights groups say hundreds of protesters were killed by security forces in the uprising, which was punctuated by bursts of street fighting between Saleh loyalists and their foes.
"The revisions don't change the bill's bottom line, that it still amounts to a licence to kill," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "The Yemeni government should be investigating senior officials linked to serious crimes, not letting them get away with murder."
Yemenis angry at the draft law are still taking to the streets calling for Saleh to be put on trial and U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay has warned the immunity offer could violate international law.
The law also ordered "necessary measures" be put in place to prevent future human rights violations, without elaborating.
Washington and neighbouring oil giant Saudi Arabia are keen for the transfer plan to work, fearing protracted political upheaval will let al Qaeda's regional Yemen-based wing establish a foothold along oil shipping routes through the Red Sea.
Underscoring those concerns, three soldiers were killed in the southern port city of Aden early on Friday when unidentified militants drove up to a checkpoint and opened fire, a security official said.
The official said he suspected the militants, who set fire to a police car before fleeing the scene, belonged to al Qaeda.
Saleh's opponents have accused him of deliberately ceding territory to Islamists to prove his argument that only he prevents an al Qaeda takeover in Yemen, from where the global militant network has previously launched abortive attacks. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf in Aden; Writing by Isabel Coles; Editing by Alison Williams)
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