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