SAMEH KHOUZAM: ASSURANCES LETTER FROM EGYPTIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 006755 SIPDIS NEA, NEA/ELA L DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/01/2010 TAGS: KCRM KJUS PHUM PREL EG SUBJECT: SAMEH KHOUZAM: ASSURANCES LETTER FROM EGYPTIAN PUBLIC PROSECUTOR REF: A. CAIRO 01672 ¶B. STATE 25810 Classified By: ECPO Minister Counselor Michael Corbin for reasons 1.4 ( b) and (d). ¶1. (C) In response to our March 1 demarche (ref A) and Charge's July 27 letter and aide memoire, Post received a formal letter from Egypt's Public Prosecutor Maher Abdel Wahed regarding Egyptian assurances on the return of fugitive murder suspect Sameh Khouzam. The Public Prosecutor is Egypt's ranking law enforcement officer and the counterpart of the U.S. Attorney General. ¶2. (C) Post has informally translated the document, which includes a reference to Egypt's constitutional prohibitions on the use of torture. The Arabic original will be faxed to NEA/ELA. ¶3. (SBU) Following is an informal Embassy translation of the letter from Public Prosecutor Maher Abdel Wahed. The Arabic language original should be considered the authoritative text. The letter is dated August 4 although we did not receive it until weeks later. BEGIN INFORMAL TRANSLATION: Charge d'Affaires Mr. Stuart Jones, In reference to your Excellency's letter dated July 27, 2005 regarding Egyptian citizen Sameh Sami Shehata Khozam, who is wanted by Egyptian authorities in connection with Criminal Case No. 432/1998 Ain Shams Homicide, and the memorandum you attached thereto, we would like to inform you that the Public Prosecutor has the prerogatives to hand over and receive criminals wanted for extradition, except national defendants whom by virtue of the Egyptian Constitution cannot be extradited. We would also like to inform you that the General Prosecution is the agency entitled by law to protect rights, freedoms, and duties, and implement legal and procedural guarantees, as stipulated by the Constitution and Egyptian laws, to protect defendants from -- and punish anyone who commits -- acts considered a crime, including the crime of torture, which the Egyptian Constitution stipulates should not be dropped by the passing of time. Also, we would like to inform you that the General Prosecution is the agency that supervises all places of detention and is the one that guarantees the respect for and implementation of the required rules for the treatment of prisoners. Any commitments made are made within the framework of respect for the implementation of all legal and procedural guarantees for the protection of defendants as stipulated by the Egyptian Constitution and laws. Sincerely, Public Prosecutor Counselor/ Maher Abdel Wahed August 4, 2005 END INFORMAL TRANSLATION. 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. RICCIARDONE