APPROACHING THE 18-MONTH THRESHOLD FOR DETAINEES

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003932

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS PREL XF IZ
SUBJECT: APPROACHING THE 18-MONTH THRESHOLD FOR DETAINEES
IN IRAQ

REF: NEA/I PM CLASSIFIED O-I FOR 09/16/05

Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION DAVID M. SATTERFIELD FOR REASONS
1.4 (b),(c),AND (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. The internment of certain individuals
involved with insurgent and terrorist operations in Iraq will
begin to exceed 18 months at the start of 2006. Coalition
Provisional Authority (CPA) Memorandum No. 3 established an
18-month threshold for holding detainees, after which a
detainee held for security reasons must be released,
transferred to the GOI for prosecution, or referred to the
Joint Detention Committee for approval to intern the
individual for longer than 18 months. Post and Task
Force-134 (TF-134) have been discussing the 18-month limit to
develop a firm plan that will not negatively affect security
conditions in Iraq. END SUMMARY.

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LEGAL BASIS
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2. (S) Section 6 of CPA Memorandum No. 3 (Revised) states
that individuals detained for security reasons after 6/30/04
may be detained for a maximum of 18 months; after that they
must be released, transferred to the GOI for prosecution, or
referred to a Joint Detention Committee (JDC). The JDC
co-chairs must jointly concur within two months of the end of
the 18-month term whether to continue detainment or release
the individual. The Coalition and the GOI adhere to
Memorandum No. 3 by conducting Combined Review and Release
Boards (CRRBs). Each detainee is reviewed by a CRRB every
90-180 days, and approximately 40 percent of detainee cases
brought before the Board are recommended for release.


3. (SBU) CPA Order No. 99 outlines the structure of the JDC.
The co-chairs are to be the Iraqi Prime Minister (PM) and the
MNF-I Commanding General. Other prominent members are the
Ambassadors from the U.S. and the U.K. Further
representation is required from the Iraqi ministries and
MNF-I.

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NUMBERS
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4. (SBU) The earliest date that any action would have to be
taken for security detainees is December 28, 2005, by which
time the JDC would need to have met to receive applications
to continue holding individuals beyond 18 months.


5. (S) TF-134 tracks the number of security detainees and
when each will reach the 18-month threshold. The number of
detainees who will reach the threshold during the first seven
months of 2006 are as follows:

-January (146)
-February (182)
-March (233)
-April (388)
-May (643)
-June (651)
-July (958)

MNF-I is preparing cases on a number of these detainees for
the Central Criminal Court of Iraq (CCCI). (NOTE: The higher
number of detainees reaching the threshold in July 2007 is
due to the large number of internments in the run-up to the
January 2005 elections, 18 months prior. END NOTE.)

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DEVELOPING A PLAN
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6. (S) Post and TF-134 have been working to find a suitable
Iraqi interlocutor for detention issues. This interlocutor
needs sufficient authority within the Iraqi Transitional
Government (ITG) to deal with a broad range of detention
issues, including transfer of detention operations, release
of High-Value Detainees (HVDs),increased cooperation in
finding evidence of criminal wrongdoing by those currently
held, and the 18-month term limit. The PM's initial
appointee was Sharwan al-Waely. Efforts to form a
constructive relationship with al-Waely proved unsatisfactory.


7. (S) In July 2005, Post and the PM agreed to form the
Iraq-U.S. Detainee Working Group (DWG). The PM named Dr.
Safa al-Safi, Minister of State for Transitional National
Assembly (TNA) Affairs, as the Iraqi Co-Chair of the DWG.
TF-134 Commanding General and the Embassy Legal Advisor are
the U.S. Co-Chairs for the DWG. Post considers the DWG the
entity that will serve as the operational and administrative
arm of the JDC if approval to hold security detainees beyond
18 months becomes necessary. The DWG will coordinate the
applications bilaterally prior to their presentation to the
JDC for action. This coordination will be part of a broad
effort to fully engage the ITG on the issue of transferring
detention operations.


8. (S) Steps also are underway to attempt to reduce the
detainee population approaching the 18-month threshold.
TF-134 is engaging the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior (MOI)
in an effort to find additional evidence that would allow
criminal prosecution of more security internees. This effort
prioritizes detainees who have been held the longest. TF-134
also reviews every detainee's file to determine whether there
is sufficient admissible evidence to successfully prosecute
the detainee at the CCCI. Cases that are 15 months or older
receive priority. Upon conviction, detainees are transferred
to Iraqi custody. Further, Post and MNF-I are pushing to
release significant numbers of security internees as part of
an outreach effort. This release effort is complicated,
however, because previous CRRBs and improved detainee
screening by MNF-I operational components have resulted in a
relatively homogeneous, high-risk detainee population.


9. (U) Finally, Post and TF-134 continue to engage the ITG
on the issue of transferring detention operations and
building a broader rule of law capacity. These efforts will
address investigative and court capacity (to bring before the
courts more cases of those being held as security internees),
prison capacity (to transfer those who are convicted to Iraqi
physical custody),and capacity to take over MNF-I detention
facilities once Iraq is in a position to assume
responsibility for security detentions.
Khalilzad