NETHERLANDS/ANGOLA: COURT SEEKS MORE INFORMATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L THE HAGUE 002693

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UBI, AF/S

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2015
TAGS: KPAO PBTS XA PREL AO NL
SUBJECT: NETHERLANDS/ANGOLA: COURT SEEKS MORE INFORMATION
FROM MFA ON BEMBE

REF: A. THE HAGUE 2556 (AND PREVIOUS)


B. HOOIJKAAS-FRIEDMAN E-MAILS 10/05/05

Classified By: Charge Blakeman for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Hague District court adjourned the
extradition hearings for Antonio Bento Bembe until November
14 and asked the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to
provide additional clarification of the circumstances under
which Bembe came to the Hague. If the court finds that the
MFA implicitly offered "safe passage" to Bembe, it is likely
to reject the U.S. extradition request. In response to
parliamentary questioning, FM Bot stated that extraditing
Bembe could have a negative impact on the Cabinda Peace
Process but did not take a formal position on the merits of
the case. In a meeting with Dutch MFA POLDIR Hugo Siblesz,
Charge urged the Dutch to treat the case as a criminal matter
and to respond favorably to the U.S. extradition request.
END SUMMARY.

BEMBE RELEASED; COURT SEEKS MORE ANSWERS FROM MFA
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2. (SBU) The Hague District court adjourned hearings on the
U.S. request for the extradition of Antonio Bento Bembe for
the second time on October 4; the hearings will resume on
November 14. The court released Bembe from detention pending
the new trial date, but ordered him to turn over his false
passports and report daily to police.


3. (SBU) The court requested further clarification from the
MFA on its role in bringing Bembe to The Hague - where he was
arrested June 21 of last year. The implication of the
court's questions suggested that Bembe's arrest could be
rendered unlawful if the Foreign Ministry had implicitly
granted Bembe safe passage. In responses provided to the
court following the initial September 13 proceedings (ref b),
the MFA described its role as limited to granting Bembe a
visa and specifically denied that the visa granted Bembe a
"privileged status." The MFA also reported that it had
checked available lists of wanted persons prior to issuing
the visa and did not find Bembe's name or alias.


4. (SBU) According to a Justice Ministry contact who attended
the hearing, the court was clearly unsatisfied with the
answers the MFA has provided to date regarding the
circumstances of Bembe's visa issuance. The contact noted it
appeared that the chances the court would grant the
extradition appeared "slim," barring any new developments.

MFA COMMENTS ON CASE
--------------


5. (U) Separately, Foreign Minister Bot was asked to answer
questions about the case in parliament, In a written
statement released to parliament, Bot clarified that the MFA
issued Bembe a visa because it believed Bembe played a key
role in the Cabindan peace process, and asserted that the
Dutch believe his arrest and extradition could have negative
repercussions for the peace negotiations. The statement
denied that the MFA and MOJ had had contact on the case prior
to the arrest, and stated that it would be "inappropriate" to
comment on whether preserving the peace process should take
priority over the U.S. extradition request.


6. (C) In a meeting with Charge on October 4, MFA Political
Director Hugo Siblesz described the Bembe case as an
"embarrassment," since the MFA had apparently issued the visa
without realizing there was an Interpol red notice on Bembe.
(Comment: This point appears to have been glossed over in
the MFA's answers to the court noted above.) Siblesz
reiterated that the MFA believed Bembe's extradition would
complicate the Cabinda peace process and asked if the U.S.
was taking this into consideration. Charge responded that
the U.S. had considered the implications of Bembe's arrest
carefully but disagreed with the Dutch assessment. He urged
that the case be handled as a purely criminal matter. On
that basis, the Charge added, the court should be able to
reach a positive decision on extraditing Bembe to stand trial
in the U.S.
BLAKEMAN