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). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶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. -------------- Sunday September 15 -------------- ¶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. -------------- Monday September 16 -------------- ¶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. -------------- Tuesday September 17 -------------- ¶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. -------------- Wednesday September 18 -------------- ¶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. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶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