GOJ'S RESPONSE TO ALLEGATION OF 1000 MISSING OR

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 003301

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM IZ JO
SUBJECT: GOJ'S RESPONSE TO ALLEGATION OF 1000 MISSING OR
DETAINED JORDANIANS IN IRAQ

REF: AMMAN 003230

Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b),(d)

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Summary
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1. (C) A member of Parliament this week alleged that there
are 1000 Jordanians who are either missing or detained in
Iraq. The GOJ publicly refuted the number, but the MFA
formally requested USG assistance in collecting a list of all
Jordanians in CPA or Coalition military custody. End summary.

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1000 Missing or Detained in Iraq
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2. (U) The Chairman of the Lower House Committee for Public
Freedoms and Citizens Rights, Jamal Dmour, this week alleged
in the press that around 1000 Jordanians are missing or
detained in Iraq. According to press accounts, the committee
submitted a petition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
urging them to work with authorities in Iraq to get
information about the missing or detained. The committee
arrived at the 1000 assertion after meeting with several
families whose claims of missing sons in Iraq were based on
lost contact. The press quoted Dmour as saying that "some
families told us that their sons are now at Abu Gharib
prison". The press reported that the committee would
continue to gather information and follow up the issue with
authorities.

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GOJ's Response
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3. (U) Minister of State and Government Spokesperson Asma
Khader told the press April 27, that the number of missing or
detained "is much lower than the committee's estimate."
Khader said the GOJ was following up on the conditions of
between 30 to 35 Jordanians believed to missing or detained
in Iraq, and that the GOJ is working with concerned parties
and organizations to gather information and determine an
exact number.

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MFA's response
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4. (C) MFA SecGen Rifai raised these allegations with DCM on
April 22 noting that Jordan's estimates were far lower--in
the 30s. Nonetheless, these charges were creating political
difficulties for the government, and the MFA sought U.S.
assistance in determining the number of Jordanians held in
Iraq. Ali al-Ayad, Foreign Minister Muasher's Private Office
Director, harshly criticized the methodology of Dmour's
figure in a conversation with PolCouns April 26. The MFA, he
said, believes the number of Jordanians detained in Iraq is
far lower, although the MFA does not have adequate
information to refute Dmour's claims in public. He asked for
USG assistance in collecting from the CPA a list of all
Jordanians in CPA or Coalition military custody, and as much
information as the USG can provide on Jordanians in Iraqi
custody (i.e. at Abu Gharib prison). On April 28, the MFA
sent an official diplomatic note requesting a full accounting
of all detained Jordanian nationals in Iraq including names,
locations, and reasons for detention.

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Comment
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5. (C) Public--if unsubstantiated--allegations that large
numbers of Jordanians are in Coalition custody persist. It
would be helpful to provide the GOJ with the specifics of all
Jordanians held by the Coalition (See Reftel),as well as our
best guess of the numbers in Iraqi custody.


6. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.

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GNEHM