MULLAH KREKAR CASE: STATE OF PLAY IN JORDAN

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005398

SIPDIS

NOFORN

DOJ FOR OIA:BRUCE SWARTZ, JUDI FRIEDMAN; BRUSSELS FOR
LEGATT; STATE FOR EUR/NB AND S/CT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2012
TAGS: PTER KJUS PREL NO NL IZ JO
SUBJECT: MULLAH KREKAR CASE: STATE OF PLAY IN JORDAN

REF: A. (A) OSLO 2169

B. (B) THE HAGUE 2659

C. (C) KOSNETT/SILLIMAN TELECONS

D. (D) BERRY/RUSSEL E-MAILS

Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM. REASONS 1.5 (B,D).

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Summary
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1. (S) Post has been in contact with the GOJ and the Dutch
Embassy this week regarding the Mullah Krekar case, and has
provided materials to assist the Jordanians with preparation
of their extradition request to the Netherlands. This cable
recounts steps taken thus far. End Summary.

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Sunday September 15
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2. (S) Following weekend e-mails (ref d),Charge, PolCouns,
and Legatt met with Justice Minister Faris Nabulsi and raised
the Mullah Krekar issue. We encouraged the Minister to
coordinate the GOJ's case with the Military Prosecutor's
Office and the General Intelligence Directorate (GID),as
well as with his Dutch counterpart. After the meeting, the
Minister's Aide phoned PolCouns to say that the MOJ had
spoken to the Military Prosecutor's Office, who were in the
process of drafting preliminary documents to give to the
Dutch.

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Monday September 16
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3. (S) PolCouns met with Ali Al-Ayed, personal assistant to
FonMin Muasher, and Samer Naber, the MFA's Legal Advisor,
immediately after they had turned over the GOJ's preliminary
request for extradition to the Dutch DCM Peter Van der Vliet.
PolCouns offered USDOJ assistance to Jordan as it prepares
any subsequent submission for the Dutch court system.

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Tuesday September 17
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4. (S) PolCouns met with Dutch DCM Van der Vliet who reported
that initial indications from both the Dutch MOJ and MFA in
The Hague are that the 3-page Jordanian document submitted on
9/16 would be "good enough" to have Dutch custody over Mullah
Krekar extended for 20 days. It would not, however, be
sufficient for a Dutch judge to order extradition. Van der
Vliet mentioned that the GONL is considering sending a legal
expert to Jordan to help the Jordanians properly structure
its follow-on legal documents.

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Wednesday September 18
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5. (S/NF) PolCouns met again with the MFA's Ali al-Ayed and
passed to him the DOJ/OIA materials on how to draft documents
for the Dutch legal system, and again offered USDOJ
assistance. Al-Ayed commented that he didn't know how much
influence the MFA or MOJ would have on this case as the
Military Prosecutor's Office and GID are handling all of the
paperwork.


6. (S) ORCA has passed the same materials and has made the
same offers of USG assistance through their own channels.

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Comment
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7. (S/NF) Given the nature of the charges in this case, it
is being handled by the State Security Court prosecutor's
office, and is being coordinated by the GID -- both entities
that have little institutional experience in preparing
documents for other legal systems. In addition, the GOJ is
unclear about the legal hurdles it will have to clear in
presenting its more detailed extradition argument. For
example, do the Jordanians merely have to show that they have
legitimate, pre-existing, and extraditable drug charges
against Krekar, or must they make a prima facie case
including evidence? If they need to make a more detailed
case, to what degree of proof, and with what kind of evidence
(court records of the charges, transcripts of the confessions
of the convicted drug runners) must that case be made? Does
the GOJ have to refer specifically to the Vienna Convention
and cite it as the basis for extradition, or will Dutch
prosecutors do that before the court? Will the Dutch defense
be able to challenge the Jordanian evidence, the reputation
of Jordanian courts or the mixed civilian/military nature of
the State Security Court (in which the drug charges were
brought)? How important is the format and use of specific
Dutch or English legal terms to the case?


8. (S/NF) Finally, given that information on this case is
coming to the GOJ in different channels, and that we are not
confident of the level of Jordanian interagency coordination,
Embassy Amman would appreciate frequent readouts on the
status of the case so that we can be sure all involved GOJ
entities have the most current information.
GNEHM