AMBASSADOR ASKS PM TO PRESENT EXTRADITION TREATY

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 006518

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA, NEA/ARN, AND L/LEI
JUSTICE FOR OIA
FBI FOR OIO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2013
TAGS: PREL CJAN PTER US JO
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR ASKS PM TO PRESENT EXTRADITION TREATY
TO PARLIAMENT

REF: AMMAN 6398

Classified By: Amb. Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b)(d)


1. (C) The Ambassador on October 9 asked Prime Minister Ali
Abul Ragheb to submit the U.S.-Jordan bilateral extradition
treaty to Parliament for approval and work to bring it fully
into force. Abul Ragheb was aware of the Ambassador's
earlier request to the Foreign Minister (ref),and, in fact,
reached for a file containing several memos about the treaty.
Commenting that King Hussein had seemingly ignored some of
the legal points in the file when he signed the decree
bringing the treaty into force in 1995, he said that he would
have to study the file to see whether there was a need for
any further internal or bilateral discussions on the treaty.
He promised to respond to our request as soon as possible.


2. (C) COMMENT: The Prime Minister did not flinch when
asked to submit the treaty to Parliament -- but did not
promise to do so, either. When the Ambassador queried him on
possible political objections to the treaty in Parliament,
Abul Ragheb responded (jokingly) that the treaty would "pass
in a day" if he told MPs that he could use it to request the
extradition of Iraqi National Congress President and Iraqi
Governing Council member Ahmed Chalabi (who is under felony
indictment in Jordan for bank fraud).

Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at

http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/

or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET
home page.
GNEHM