THE DIPLOMATIC COMMUNITY DELIVERS DEMARCHE ON

1. (SBU) On December 13, 2006, a diplomatic delegation lead
by Canadian Ambassador David Sproule delivered a demarche to
Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Abdullah addressing the
arrest, trial proceedings, and jail sentence of Afghan
journalist Ali Mohaqiq Nasab. The delegation included
Ambassadors from Canada, Norway, Italy, EUSR, and
representatives from the EC and the USA. The delegation
informed Abdullah that the international community was
concerned with Mr. Nasab's case, which runs contrary to
Afghanistan's responsibility to protect the rights to freedom
of opinion and expressions, as guaranteed under article 34 of
the Afghan Constitution, and article 19 of the International
Convention on Civil and Political Rights to which Afghanistan
is a Party. They also noted that the involvement of the
Supreme Court in the criminal trial process highlights
deficiencies in the judicial system. The case should have
been tried by the Media Commission and not the Supreme Court.
After raising these issues, the delegation requested the
release of Mr. Nasab.



2. (SBU) Abdullah agreed that certain judicial procedures
were breached in the handling of Mr. Nasab's case and that
the earlier this case was resolved the better all concerned
would be. He stated that he was scheduled to meet with
President Karzai later today and would pass the message on to
him.



3. (C) Subsequent to the delivery of the demarche, Abdullah
met privately with Sproule and informed him that the GOA will
make every effort to release Nasab before parliament convenes
on Dec 19, 2005. (COMMENT. We cannot guarantee that this
will happen. We will continue to press the issue but should
not in any way publicize the hope of an early release. END
COMMENT.)



4. (SBU) We will continue to monitor the case and provide
an update when Nasab is released.
NEUMANN