TSVANGIRAI TRIAL: BEN-MENASHE STILL UNDER CROSS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000484 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2013 TAGS: PGOV PHUM ZI SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI TRIAL: BEN-MENASHE STILL UNDER CROSS EXAMINATION REF: A. HARARE 360 ¶B. HARARE 313 ¶C. HARARE 259 Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER KIMBERLY JEMISON FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) A ND (D) Summary. 1. (C) The treason trial of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) officials Morgan Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, and Renson Gasela resumed on March 3, after a one-week recess. Cross-examination of the state,s star witness, Ari Ben-Menashe, entered its seventeenth day on March 7. Court time was divided between questioning Ben-Menashe about portions of the infamous videotape and dealing with Ben-Menashe,s conduct. The judge and the lawyers were visibly tired of Ben-Menashe and the slow pace of the trial, and the judge even met with the attorneys on more than one occasion to discuss ways to speed it up. End summary. Bizos Picks Apart Videotape -------------- ¶2. (U) Lead defense attorney George Bizos resumed his cross-examination on March 3, after a one-week recess granted at the behest of Ari Ben-Menashe. Bizos, questioning focused on pointing out irregularities between Ben-Menashe,s testimony and the videotape and on showing the court how Ben-Menashe and his associates tried to entrap Tsvangirai, Ncube, and Gasela. Bizos made it very clear that Tsvangirai used the word "eliminate" only once, and only after ABM had used it over and over again. ¶3. (U) Bizos asked Ben-Menashe to decipher the conversation between him, his business partner Alexander Legault, and purported CIA Deputy Director Simms when Tsvangirai and Johnson left the room at one point during their December 2001 meeting in Montreal. Bizos also questioned Ben-Menashe about passages in which Ben-Menashe pretended to be on Tsvangirai,s side for the purposes of entrapment. SIPDIS Ben-Menashe reiterated previous claims that Tsvangirai had wanted Dickens and Madson to secure the CIA's help in assassinating Mugabe. He also claimed that, for the first time during the trial and without any corroboration from the videotape, Tsvangirai also planned to kill some of Mugabe's ministers. Ben-Menashe Wasting Court,s Time -------------- ¶4. (U) The court has spent an inordinate amount of time arguing over Ben-Menashe,s compliance with court orders and dealing with his over-the-top behavior. Before the recess, Ben-Menashe was ordered to produce several documents including a certificate of registration and financial data for Dickens and Madsen (see reftel A). On March 3, Bizos questioned Ben-Menashe about these documents and pressed the court to find Ben-Menashe in noncompliance of the court order to produce these items. On the morning of March 4, Presiding Judge Paddington Garwe deliberated for more than an hour on whether the documents Ben-Menashe provided complied with the court order. At the end of the deliberations, Garwe decided Ben-Menashe should explain what was produced and why some things were missing. During the afternoon, Bizos argued once more how Ben-Menashe was not in compliance. ¶5. (U) Court proceedings were held up several times because of Ben-Menashe,s conduct. On the afternoon of March 5, court adjourned half an hour early (before 16h00) as a result of Ben-Menashe,s comments about Morgan Tsvangirai. During the cross-examination, Ben-Menashe insulted Tsvangirai by saying "The future president of Zimbabwe is nuts." Bizos told the court that he would sit down until the court addressed the matter. Garwe cautioned Ben-Menashe to watch his language, reminding him that they had been through this before. Ben-Menashe then apologized, after which Bizos asked if the apology were extended to his client. Ben-Menashe replied no and Bizos insisted that an apology be extended to his client forthwith. Garwe looked at his watch and declared that court would adjourn until the following morning. ¶6. (U) The March 6 morning session opened with Garwe strongly castigating Ben-Menashe. He made the following points: --despite numerous warnings, the state's witness continues to use inappropriate and insulting language; --in a court of law virtually everywhere in the world, certain rules of decorum must be observed; --lawyers are expected to behave according to the ethics of their profession; --when a witness derides the accused, it is not acceptable and contemptuous of the proceedings; --I hope this final warning will suffice and be taken seriously. Despite this castigation, Garwe had to instruct Ben-Menashe during the afternoon session on March 6 not to call the accused criminals but to refer to them as the accused. ¶7. (U) Court was held up again for half an hour during the afternoon session on March 6 when Ben-Menashe asked the judge to dismiss him from the stand and allow him to return to Canada, claiming abuse from both the defense and the state. Ben-Menashe argued that the state had a vested interest in his being on the stand and that the defense was trying to win through a technicality and that was why he had been questioned for several weeks. Ben-Menashe also complained about having to answer questions repeatedly and accused the defense of prolonging the trial. ¶8. (U) Bizos emphatically rejected the suggestion that he was responsible for the protracted trial and cited examples where catering to Ben-Menashe had delayed the proceedings. Deputy Attorney General Patel also rejected the suggestion that he was trying to drag the trial out, citing examples when he had objected to the defense,s line of questioning. Garwe said he would make a ruling on the petition March 7, but that Ben-Menashe would testify through the day. Interest Dwindling and Patience Thin -------------- ¶9. (U) The week saw a marked decrease in the number of visitors in the courtroom. The lower gallery was between half and three quarters full. The upper gallery was relatively empty before the recess. The press area has been partially full with at least two-thirds occupancy. In addition to dwindling interest, the two weeks of rain and exasperation with Ben-Menashe could also factor into the reduced participation. ¶10. (U) Garwe is clearly getting fed up with Ben-Menashe (and the slow pace of the trial),but still stopped short of spelling out the consequences of inappropriate behavior. He has tried to speed up the trial by discussing--so far, without success--ways to do so with opposing attorneys in chambers. Comment -------------- ¶9. (C) The judge and lawyers are visibly tired of dealing with Ben-Menashe and the slow pace of the trial. Both Bizos and Patel sigh loudly and show other signs of exasperation when Ben-Menashe goes off on a tangent, as he does in his responses to virtually every question. Earlier in the week, defense counsel thought they would have completed the cross-examination by March 5 but given the constant interruptions and lack of cooperation by Ben-Menashe and Garwe,s lack of control over the witness, the cross-examination could go on for another week. End comment. SULLIVAN