BAHRAIN: NOTICE OF GUANTANAMO ADMINISTRATIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAMA 000505

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2015
TAGS: PTER PREL KAWC BA
SUBJECT: BAHRAIN: NOTICE OF GUANTANAMO ADMINISTRATIVE
REVIEW BOARD PROCEEDINGS

REF: SECSTATE 57663

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) The Ambassador informally raised the issue of the
upcoming Guantanamo Administrative Review Board (ARB)
proceedings with Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar on the sidelines of an event last
week. PolOff delivered reftel demarche to Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Assistant Undersecretary for Coordination and
Follow Up Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa April 6.
Sheikh Abdul Aziz said that an MFA official would contact
Abdullah Al Noaimi's family members to notify them of the
pending ARB proceedings and inform them that the ARB will
consider any written information they may wish to submit
through the GOB.


2. (C) Sheikh Abdul Aziz said the GOB would pass to EmbOffs
any information received from the family and would also
respond in writing to various items in the reftel talking
points. He emphasized that the GOB was more than willing to
accept responsibility for any enemy combatants returned from
Guantanamo, including Al Noaimi. Sheikh Abdul Aziz stressed
that it was very important to the GOB that one or more of the
six Bahrainis detained in Guantanamo are either transferred
or released, as appropriate. Finally, he noted that
detainees of European countries were being transferred or
released in greater numbers than detainees of other
nationalities.
MONROE