ITG REQUESTS RELEASE OF MEHDI ABDHMED AL-KHALISI

S E C R E T BAGHDAD 003006 SIPDIS NOFORN E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/18/2015 TAGS: MOPS PHUM PTER PINS PINR IZ SUBJECT: ITG REQUESTS RELEASE OF MEHDI ABDHMED AL-KHALISI Classified By: Charge d' Affaires David M. Satterfield for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) MNF-I and Embassy are receiving frequent and fervent requests from Prime Minister Ibrahim Ja'afari, Minister of State for National Security Abd al-Karim al-Anzi, and National Security Advisor Mowaffak al-Rubaie for the release of detainee Mehdi Abdmehd al-Khalisi (MP#124),currently held by MNF-I at Camp Cropper, near Baghdad International Airport. ¶2. (S/NF) Al-Anzi has told Embassy contacts that Mr. al-Khalisi is a close personal friend of his, Mr. Rubaie's, and the PM's. He has also said that Mr. al-Khalisi is innocent of any offense, and that al-Anzi would be happy to face a judge in his place. (Mr. al-Khalisi, who was detained on July 17, 2003, is being investigated and is likely to face eventual criminal charges in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq.) ¶3. (S/NF) Mr. al-Khalisi, an Iraqi national who lived in Iran for twenty-three years, returned to Iraq in 2003 to open an Islamic Cultural Office, which produced a weekly anti-Coalition newspaper. He is believed to be the founder and leader of the Iranian- backed Muntada al-Wilaya (MAW),which carried out the assassination of Ba'ath Party leaders. ¶4. (S/NF) A source within MAW claims to have seen an enciphered telegram from Mr. al-Khalisi to Brigadier Ahmed Fourauzandeh, the deputy commander of Ramazan Command in the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Group, in which Mr. al-Khalisi claims responsibility for an attack against six British military police officers in am-Mijar al-Kabir in June 2003. ¶5. (S/NF) Another MAW source of unknown reliability claims that that Brigadier Fourauzandeh has authorized an expenditure of up to $500,000 for operations to secure Mr. al-Khalisi's release, and that senior ITG officials have received telephone calls from the Brigadier requesting assistance. ¶6. (S/NF) MNF-I has already informed ITG leadership, including the PM, that Mr. al-Khalisi poses a significant security threat and faces serious criminal charges; MNF-I is also preparing a declassified summary of the information above which can be passed to the PM, Mr. al-Anzi, and Mr. Rubaie. Whether this will quiet calls for his release remains to be seen. Satterfield