SPAIN: GUANTANAMO DETAINEE RELEASED ON BAIL

C O N F I D E N T I A L MADRID 002712

SIPDIS

STATE FOR S/WCI (L. RICHARDS),EUR/WE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2009
TAGS: PREL PINR KJUS PGOV SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN: GUANTANAMO DETAINEE RELEASED ON BAIL


Classified By: CHG J. ROBERT MANZANARES, REASONS 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Legat and other agencies have met and consulted at
length on the release on bail July 13 of Hamed Abderrahman
Ahmed. While there is disappointment within the rank and
file of the Spanish National Police, they emphasize that it
was a provisional release on bail. Prosecutorial Magistrate
Baltasar Garzon has not dropped the case. He set the bail
low, however, at 3,000 euros. The police emphasize that
Abderrahman is required to report on a daily basis to his
local police headquarters and on a weekly basis to the
courts. The police continue to collect evidence. As with
other al Qaeda related cases (such as the al Qaeda cell led
by Eddin Barakat Yarkas who was arrested in November 2001 and
is still awaiting trial),a trial would likely not take place
for several years.


2. (C) The Department asked whether the USG had an
arrangement with the Government of Spain that the USG would
release Abderrahman to the Spanish only if they prosecuted
him. The USG did not premise the transfer specifically on
an agreement to prosecute; though the USG emphasized to the
USG our understanding he would be prosecuted, the Spanish
government does not have authority over the Spanish court
system or its magistrates. In seeking Abderrahman's
transfer, the MFA did tell us formally that he was sought by
Spanish courts under the charge of membership in a terrorist
organization.


3. (C) Comment: Garzon is an outspoken critic of the US
policy on Guantanamo detainees. He is also the Spanish
judiciary's most aggressive investigator of al Qaeda-related
terrorists, having indicted over thirty, twelve of whom are
in custody. While bail for Abderrahman is low, the
provisions of reporting daily to a police station are
stringent by Spanish standards. The media report that
Abderrahman will live in his native Ceuta. Regardless of
Garzon's discomfort with Guantanamo, we expect that he will
not drop the case if he has solid evidence against
Abderrahman to present to the prosecutor. The Spanish media
have tended to portray Abderrahman as a victim of the US and
skirt over or ignore his previous residence in Afghanistan
and al Qaeda connections.


MANZANARES