VISIT TO PRISONER NABIL SOLIMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 004873 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2015 TAGS: PTER PHUM CASC EG SUBJECT: VISIT TO PRISONER NABIL SOLIMAN REF: A. CAIRO 2089 ¶B. 04 CAIRO 9247 ¶C. 04 CAIRO 4548 ¶D. 03 CAIRO 2300 ¶E. 02 CAIRO 12748 ¶F. 02 CAIRO 9902 ¶G. 02 CAIRO 8561 ¶H. 02 STATE 165084 ¶I. 02 CAIRO 6152 Classified by A/DCM Michael Corbin for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Emboffs visited Nabil Soliman on June 23, an Egyptian citizen returned by the U.S. to Egypt in June 2002 and subsequently convicted of membership in Egyptian Islamic Jihad and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Soliman affirmed that he was being humanely treated and appeared generally fit, but complained of elevated blood pressure and related symptoms. Soliman was focused on his legal case, complaining that he was being forced to serve a five year sentence in Egypt on top of the five years he had served in the U.S. while being detained on immigration charges and asserted that this was tantamount to "double jeopardy." He entreated the USG to encourage the GOE to release him upon completion of 3/4 of his sentence, which by his count, will come in March 2006. Soliman also repeated his previous request for a "welfare and whereabouts" check on his two AMCIT children, whom he believes are with his estranged wife in the U.S. End summary. ¶2. (C) On June 23, poloff and A/LEGATT visited Nabil Soliman at Torah Prison, just south of Cairo. Soliman was returned by the United States to Egypt in June, 2002 (ref I) and was subsequently convicted, by a State Security Court in February 2003, of membership in an illegal organization (the Egyptian Islamic Jihad). He is currently serving a five year sentence. The visit was the eighth conducted by the Embassy (reftels),in keeping with the U.S. agreement with the GOE to monitor Soliman's treatment after his return. -------------- Treatment -------------- ¶3. (C) Per established routine, the meeting with Soliman took place in the prison warden's office, in the presence of prison officials and a monitor from Egyptian State Security. Soliman appeared reasonably fit and affirmed that he was receiving adequate nutrition and was not being subjected to ill treatment by authorities. Soliman's demeanor and body language appeared consistent with his claims. Soliman noted that he supplemented his diet with meat and other provisions provided by his brother Wael, who visits every two weeks. Food supplied by prison, mainly bread, fava beans, eggs, and chicken once a week, was not adequate, he opined. -------------- Health -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Soliman advised poloff and A/LEGAT that he had been suffering from elevated blood pressure. His most recent reading was 150/95. He was experiencing shortness of breath and general fatigue and said that he had been advised by a prison physician that he should supplement his diet with multivitamins, but added that they were too expensive for his brother to supply. Poloff agreed look into whether the Embassy could send multivitamins to Soliman. -------------- Legal Case, Release Prognosis -------------- ¶5. (C) As in previous visits (reftels),Soliman was most interested in discussing his legal case and the possibility of a release upon completion of 3/4 of his five year sentence. Soliman asserted that he had been subjected to "double jeopardy," having served almost five years in U.S. immigration detention facilities before his removal and return to Egypt. Soliman repeated a claim he has made earlier, including in letters to Secretaries Powell and Rice (refs A and D),that the INS has suppressed a judicial order for his release as it continued to work with other agencies in preparing his removal to Egypt. ¶6. (C) Soliman asserted that the USG bore "moral responsibility" for the "injustice" of his case and should now compensate by intervening with the GOE to encourage his release upon completion of 3/4 of his sentence. (Note: Many Egyptian prisoners are approved for release upon completion of 3/4 of their sentence. This release, granted by a parole board, is discretionary, not automatic. End note.) By Soliman's count, he will have served 3/4 of his sentence by March, 2006 although he complained that the GOE had started the "clock ticking" on his time served in prison in September 2002, three months after his return from the U.S. -------------- Family Welfare/Whereabouts -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Soliman also raised his continuing concerns about the welfare and whereabouts of his children, including AMCITS Ibrahim Nabil Soliman (DPOB 5/10/1995, New Jersey) and Yasser Nabil Soliman (DPOB 1/28/1997, North Carolina) whom he believed were resident with estranged wife Fatima Abdullah Ismail (DPOB 1/20/1963, Egypt),somewhere in the U.S. - possibly in the state of New Jersey. Soliman asserted that he just wanted someone in the USG to locate his children, confirm that they were safe and healthy, and report this back to him. Post is exploring options for accommodating Soliman's request. ¶8. (SBU) (Note: Soliman's request for w/w checks on his AMCIT children is not new. Even before his 2002 removal from the United States, Soliman had been in contact with CA/OCS and originally believed that his children had been taken by his estranged wife to the U.K. CA/OCS confirmed the U.S. citizenship of Ibrahim and Yasser and worked with Embassy London on w/w checks in the U.K., which did not lead to new information (ref H). Soliman later advised poloff that inquiries made by his family suggested that the children were in the U.S. (ref B). End note.) Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. CORBIN