FRENCH OFFICIAL DISCUSSES BORREL AFFAIR, WIDOW

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 000974 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/15/2015 TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID MARR SCUL DJ FR SUBJECT: FRENCH OFFICIAL DISCUSSES BORREL AFFAIR, WIDOW PRESSES CLAIMS REF: A. DJIBOUTI 106 ¶B. DJIBOUTI 68 ¶C. DJIBOUTI 135 Classified By: Political-Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt for reaso n 1.4 (b/d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: MFA DAS-equivalent for East Africa Jean-Christophe Belliard informed us on February 14 that Djibouti FM Farah's health was recovering following his stroke but that he would remain hospitalized for several weeks and would not be able to meet with FM Barnier on February 17 as earlier planned. Belliard described the Borrel affair as an "irritant," said that France's military presence in Djibouti was not under threat, but noted Mrs. Borrel's skill in pressing her claims regarding her husband's death. He said that DefMin Alliot-Marie planned to visit Djibouti and Yemen at the end of February but he could offer no details. Mrs. Borrel continues to press her case aggressively and has initiated legal action against the MFA for its alleged interference in the ongoing investigation of her husband's death. END SUMMARY. MFA COMMENTS -------------- ¶2. (C) Embassy Africa watcher met February 14 with Jean-Christophe Belliard, MFA DAS-equivalent for East Africa, to discuss the Borrel affair (refs A and B). In response to Africa watcher's query about Foreign Minister Farah's health (ref C),Belliard noted that Farah had been scheduled to meet with FM Barnier February 17 to discuss the full range of bilateral issues. Farah's stroke, he said, had occurred at an inopportune time. Belliard said that Farah was recovering but was likely to be in hospital for several weeks. ¶3. (C) Turning to the Borrel affair, Belliard said that Djiboutian President Guellah is convinced that France is plotting to overthrow him and refuses to understand that the French judiciary and media are independent. Belliard noted that Borrel's widow was well-connected and knew how to press her claims. Belliard described the Borrel affair as an "irritant." In response to our question, Belliard said that the French military presence in Djibouti was not under threat, but allowed that during the last crisis, in April 2004, the Djiboutians, playing a "cat and mouse" game, had prevented French forces from training with live rounds and conducting overflights. ¶4. (C) Belliard informed us that Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie would be visiting Djibouti (and Yemen) at the end of February. The MFA, he noted wryly, had not been consulted by the MOD on the trip, so he could offer no information regarding what Alliot-Marie might say or do while in Djibouti. Belliard said that a visit to Djibouti by a senior French official was possible following Djibouti's April 8 elections, but that nothing was currently planned. Expressing frustration, Belliard said that the Borrel affair, and Djibouti generally, were of more concern to the Presidency than the MFA because of French military interests. At the MFA, he said, many wondered why France maintained its military presence in Djibouti and paid "100 times" more attention to Djibouti than to Ethiopia. BACKGROUND AND RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BORREL CASE -------------- -------------- ¶5. (SBU) BACKGROUND: Bernard and Elisabeth Borrel, both French magistrates, went to Djibouti in April 1994, when he was assigned to help reform Djibouti's code of criminal procedure. Bernard Borrel's immolated corpse was discovered at the foot of a cliff 80 kms from the city of Djibouti on October 19, 1995, after he had withdrawn money from his French bank and purchased several liters of gasoline. Two letters were discovered near the body, the first describing to Elisabeth the bank transaction and the second listing his creditors and explaining how best to sell his collection of military medals. After a period of investigation involving French and Djiboutian authorities, Borrel's death was ruled a suicide, as outlined in a report of September 21, 1999, which also referred to Elisabeth's having allegedly not been truthful with investigators. Investigators also noted that the topography of the site where the body was found made it impossible for a third party to have placed the body there. ¶6. (SBU) BACKGROUND CONT'D: Elisabeth Borrel has maintained that the death was not suicide but rather homicide and has pursued the case vigorously after overcoming the initial shock of his death. Forensic evidence supporting her claim reportedly includes evidence suggesting that the judge's skull was fractured and that one arm was broken, indicating a defensive wound incurred in self-defense against a blow by a heavy object. This evidence, she and her supporters claim, was somehow overlooked during the autopsy (the results of which she was not provided until much later) and investigations following the death. Elisabeth has reportedly been harassed as she has pressed her case over the years, and has received anonymous and threatening letters, one of which contained a cigarette lighter as a reminder of the way her husband died. ¶7. (SBU) BACKGROUND CONT'D: Elisabeth Borrel's concerns about the case and her determination have led to formal judicial proceedings to investigate her husband's death, with support from a magistrate (Sophie Clement) and Elisabeth's attorneys and advisors. The most recent court decision, which appears to be the immediate cause of the current controversy over the case, took place on January 10, when the court in Versailles ordered that Djibouti's secret service chief, Hassan Said, testify as part of the court's investigation. The investigation is now reportedly focused on Hassan Said, chief prosecutor Djama Suleiman, and other senior Djiboutian officials, involving the suborning of perjury during earlier investigations. The perjury accusation concerns the testimony of a former chief of Djibouti's presidential guard unit and another witness, who are said to be in hiding in Belgium. ¶8. (SBU) DJIBOUTIAN EXPULSIONS/MFA's JAN 29 STATEMENT: In possible retaliation for the judicial order that Hassan Said testify in the case, the Djiboutian government expelled six French aid workers in January and on January 21 closed Radio France Internationale's broadcast facility in Djibouti. The MFA spokesman responded on January 29 to these events, stating that France "noted with regret" Djibouti's decision to expel the aid workers, who were active in the health, education, public security, and rural development sectors. The spokesman commented on the "excellent cooperation" provided by Djibouti's authorities and its judicial system, which had always demonstrated "all necessary transparency" in working with French authorities investigating Borrel's death. ¶9. (SBU) MFA'S JAN 29 STATEMENT CONT'D: The spokesman continued: "French magistrates have gone to Djibouti several times . . . and had always benefited from the entire cooperation of Djibouti's authorities, who had assured them access to the necessary sites, documents, and witnesses." Addressing speculation by the press, the spokesman added that, regarding certain documents that had been declassified, "contrary to what may have been written recently in certain newspapers, nothing in these documents leads one to conclude that there was any involvement on the part of Djiboutian authorities." The spokesman said that "in response to the request of Djiboutian authorities, a copy of the file concerning the death of Judge Borrel will be provided in due course to the justice authorities of Djibouti, in order to permit competent authorities of that country to decide whether to open a judicial process on this subject." (Djiboutian justice officials on October 20, 2004, had requested a copy of the entire French file on the case.) ¶10. (SBU) SYMPATHETIC PRESS: The result of the expulsions and the MFA's statement led to several prominent and sympathetic press reports reviving and reviewing the case and detailing Elisabeth Borrel's efforts to have it investigated and to overturn the ruling that her husband's death was a suicide. The press notes that Elisabeth is now suffering from cancer and raising the couple's two children on her own. ¶11. (SBU) ACTION AGAINST MFA: Apparently not satisfied with the MFA's January 29 statement, Elisabeth Borrel filed a judicial complaint against the MFA on February 7, accusing the ministry of applying pressure on the judge (Sophie Clement) overseeing the case when the MFA spokesman said that the Borrel file would be provided to Djiboutian authorities, in effect "short circuiting" the judicial process. A Paris court on February 1 said that it was "evaluating the feasibility of responding to the Djiboutian request." One of Borrel's lawyers said that the MFA statement was "intolerable," and the magistrate's union stated that "the Quai d'Orsay wants to preserve good relations with Djibouti and is striking a blow at the independence of the justice system." The MFA did not respond directly to Borrel's February 7 legal action but indicated that it would stand behind its January 29 statement. ¶12. (SBU) JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE: On February 8, the Paris court reviewing Djibouti's request for the Borrel case file indicated that it would not agree to transmit the file to Djiboutian authorities, stating that it would "evaluate what may follow this refusal." COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (C) Based on Elisabeth Borrel's commitment to this case, the favorable attention the press is giving her, and the French judiciary's eagerness to preserve its independence, we do not expect that this matter will disappear soon, however much MFA and other GOF officials may want to downplay it and suggest that it is an "irritant" with little effect on France's military presence in Djibouti. While Belliard notes the Djiboutians' inability to recognize the independent nature of the French judiciary, it would seem that the MFA, in its January 29 statement, also did not fully take into account the judiciary's interests and independence when it promised to provide the Borrel file to Djibouti. Now that the case has reached into the upper levels of the Djiboutian government, it could, depending on Elisabeth Borrel's and the French judiciary's next actions, begin to become more than an "irritant." END COMMENT. Leach