Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PARIS107
2005-01-06 18:55:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Paris
Cable title:  

SYRIAN FORMER HOSTAGE IN IRAQ FILES LAWSUIT

Tags:  PREL PGOV PTER PHUM IZ FR 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000107 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PHUM IZ FR
SUBJECT: SYRIAN FORMER HOSTAGE IN IRAQ FILES LAWSUIT
AGAINST U.S. AND EXONERATES HOSTAGE-TAKERS

REF: 04 PARIS 9098 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000107

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PHUM IZ FR
SUBJECT: SYRIAN FORMER HOSTAGE IN IRAQ FILES LAWSUIT
AGAINST U.S. AND EXONERATES HOSTAGE-TAKERS

REF: 04 PARIS 9098 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and comment: French officials, in preliminary
comments to us, stressed the strictly private nature of a
lawsuit filed in a French court by a Syrian former hostage in
Iraq, who accused named U.S. military officials of torture
and war crimes during the weeklong period he was in MNF-1
custody last November. The MFA expert on ICC issues
downplayed the potential for an ICC role in the lawsuit and
stressed that French courts rarely take up cases where
neither the plaintiff nor defendant has any ties to France.
Other MFA officials conceded that the GoF had appealed to the
Syrian former hostage not to go forward with the lawsuit or
"exaggerated" allegations while two French hostages remained
in captivity; the same officials stressed that, with the
release of the French hostages, the GoF lacked the means to
prevent the Syrian driver from pursuing his case, which is
being advanced by a French lawyer known for notorious
clients, including Tariq Aziz, Nazi war criminal Klaus
Barbie, and terrorist Carlos (Jackal). While it remains
unclear whether French courts will accept jurisdiction in
this case, the credibility and past history in Iraq of the
Syrian accuser remain in doubt, with his latest allegations
contradicting earlier public statements he made about his
treatment by U.S. military officials last November. End
summary and comment.


2. (SBU) Mohammed al-Joundi, a Syrian driver taken hostage
in Iraq with two French journalists in August and later
rescued by U.S. troops in Fallujah in November, filed a civil
lawsuit in a Paris court January 4 reportedly accusing U.S.
military officials of torture and war crimes. Post is
seeking to obtain a copy of the lawsuit, which press reports
describe as naming Commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force in Fallujah GEN George Sattler, as well as other
unnamed persons who may have committed or known about alleged
mistreatment. In a series of recent French media

appearances, Al Joundi, speaking via an interpreter, accused
U.S. troops of torturing him with electric shocks,
threatening him with death, and striking him on the back,
neck and feet during a weeklong detention following his
discovery by U.S. troops in Fallujah November 11. Al Joundi
is represented by French attorney Jacques Verges, a longtime
defender of extremist causes whose past and present client
list includes former Iraqi Vice Minister Tariq Aziz, Nazi war
criminal Klaus Barbie, Carlos "the Jackal," and Slobodan
Milosevic.


3. (C) Al-Joundi's status in France and basis for filing a
lawsuit remain unclear; according to media reports, he
arrived in Paris November 19, after the NGO "Reporters
without Borders" appealed for the French government to bring
him and his family to France because of security concerns in
Iraq. Attorney Jacques Verges claimed publicly that
al-Joundi is seeking refugee status in France and cannot
return to Syria, and on that basis is entitled to file suit
in French courts on alleged crimes taking place outside
France. Olivier Barrat, the MFA's specialist on ICC matters,
told us January 6 that he did not believe there would be any
role for the ICC in al-Joundi's suit against the US military.
When asked about jurisdiction, he said it was quite rare for
French courts to take up cases where neither the plaintiff
nor the defendant had any ties to France. Nonetheless, he
did say there was a limited ability for French courts to
address matters of "universal competence," but that it was
completely up to the courts to rule whether al-Joundi's suit
could be accepted. His implication was that the suit would
be turned down but he was careful not to go on record.


4. (C) In preliminary comments to us on the al-Joundi
lawsuit, other MFA officials stressed that al-Joundi is
acting in a private capacity with the GoF having little
recourse to limit his actions. MFA DAS-equivalent for
Iraq/Iran/Arabian Gulf issues Antoine Sivan conceded to us
January 6 that he personally had contact with al-Joundi prior
to the December 21 release of French ex-hostages Christian
Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, and urged that al-Joundi
remain quiet on his threatened lawsuit until the two French
hostages were released. Now with Malbrunot and Chesnot free,
Sivan claimed, the GoF had no leverage to limit al-Joundi's
actions. MFA Iraq desk officer Renaud Salins (protect)
described Sivan's earlier conversations with al-Joundi as a
private GoF attempt to calm the situation and advise
al-Joundi against making exaggerated claims. Sivan claimed
that he was unaware on what basis al-Joundi remained in
France and that he would seek clarification and get back to
us. Sivan also concurred when we observed that al-Joundi's
recent public accusations appeared to contradict his initial
public remarks upon his arrival in Paris last November.

5. (C) Comment: Al-Joundi's background and reported lengthy
exile in Iraq from Syria remain murky and suggest that he may
be more than a simple chauffeur. A local French-Iraqi
anthropologist who is a frequent French media commentator on
Iraq issues told us privately that the fact that al-Joundi
had fled Syria and resided in Saddam-led Iraq for a lengthy
period would suggest a linkage to the former Iraqi regime's
security services. The same commentator told us he was
researching further details on al-Joundi's background which
he would seek to publicize once he reached a credible
conclusion. Al-Joundi has avoided criticism of his hostage
takers, the Islamic Army in Iraq, despite the fact that the
group has been responsible for a number of decapitations of
foreign hostages. In a November 29 "Liberation" interview,
al-Joundi stressed that he was not at all mistreated by his
captors, and conceded that by the end of his detention he had
developed a sense of fraternity with his captors to the
extent that he offered to take up arms and join them. In
more recent press comments, al-Joundi defended his decision
not to sue his captors by asserting that the Islamic Army in
Iraq had "the right to defend their country."


6. (C) Comment, continued: Al-Joundi's allegations of
torture and abuse contradict initial statements he made after
his arrival in France, most notably in the November 29
"Liberation" interview. In describing the initial reaction
by U.S. soldiers who discovered him in an abandoned home in
Fallujah, al-Joundi asserted, "we were a bit mistreated but I
was happy. I would have readily given them one million
dollars for having saved my life." In the same interview,
al-Joundi described a U.S. captain as congratulating him on
his liberation after a U.S. soldier had interrogated him "a
bit harshly" for one hour. Al-Joundi added that U.S.
officials had provided him with medical treatment, cigarettes
and food -- hardly a description of war crimes. End comment.


7. (U) Baghdad minimize considered.
Leach