ADNAN DULAYMI'S GUARDS IN POLICE CUSTODY

C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 004451

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/04/2016
TAGS: PHUM PTER IZ
SUBJECT: ADNAN DULAYMI'S GUARDS IN POLICE CUSTODY


Classified By: Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Margaret Scobey for reaso
ns 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary: Emboffs have received numerous reports from
the mixed Sunni-Shia Al-Adil neighborhood, where Sunni
Tawafuq bloc leader Adnan Dulaymi is based, of anti-Shia
harassment and violent acts attributed to Dulaymi's security
detail. In a controversial twist, nine of Dulaymi's
bodyguards were arrested on November 15, allegedly for
involvement in murders. Dulaymi informed the Embassy he
believed his guards were being tortured to gain information
that would be used to smear his reputation and target him for
assassination (septel). Numerous families have reportedly
flocked to the Qadimiya neighborhood detention facility to
file testimonies against the nine detainees and to demand
justice. On December 2, the headquarters of Dulaymi's Iraqi
People's Council party in Adil were reportedly shelled with
mortars, directly after a neighborhood meeting held by
Dulaymi to discuss the recent violence. End Summary.

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DULAIMI: THE SHIA ARE TARGETING ME
--------------


2. (C) On November 23, Dulaymi informed the Embassy that
nine members of his security detail had been detained by
Ministry of Interior (MoI) the previous week. He claimed
that they were being tortured in an attempt to extract
derogatory information or any other intelligence that would
be used to target him politically and possibly threaten his
life (septel). Hardline Shia news website Al Buratha
published pictures of the nine detainees in custody, calling
them "insurgents" and accusing them of using official
government property and ID badges to carry out crimes. Sunni
political figures such as VP Tariq Al-Hashimi and DPM Salam
Al-Zawbaie have highlighted the arrest as an injustice and
weighed in with MoI for the guards' release. (Note: In what
may be tacit recognition that some of his guards may have
been involved in foul play, Dulaymi did not ask the Embassy
to intervene in their release, but rather to ensure that they
were treated in a humane way and that the investigation into
their alleged crimes not be politicized. End note.)

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DULAYMI'S GUARDS: GOONS OR PROTECTORS?
--------------


3. (C) In a phone conversation on November 27, Mansour
District Council (DAC) Member Ali Sheya (Shia Arab) alleged
that Dulaymi's bodyguards were threatening Shia residents of
the al-Adel sub-district, warning them to leave their homes.
Sheya said that the bodyguards were going through streets
with loudspeakers, and in some cases actually knocking on
doors of Shia residents, threatening them into leaving.
Al-Adil is one of the few Shia-Sunni mixed sectors of
Baghdad, and is located in Mansour District in Western
Baghdad. Adil is where Adnan Dulaymi resides and maintains
his Iraqi People's Conference headquarters.


4. (C) Neighborhood Advisory Council member Ali Aziz (Shia
Arab) repeated these concerns about Dulaymi's guards in a
separate conversation with POLOFF November 27. He said Shia
residents had come to him complaining about what they
believed to be Dulaymi-led efforts to displace them, accusing
Dulaymi and his guards of harassment on the street and of
knocking on their doors and threatening them.


5. (C) In a meeting with POLOFF November 30, Sunni District
Council Member, Jabr Shabil (himself a member of the Dulaymi
tribe) was hesitant to talk specific behaviors of guards
associated with Dulaymi. He would not deny allegations
against the guards; instead he indicated that it was true
that guards of political party members were very aggressive
in protecting their principal, in some cases causing injury.


6. (C) Allegations against Dulaymi and his guards have
reached the gossip circles of Parliamentarians. During a
November 23 CoR session, Jalal Eddin Al-Sagheer said Al-Adil
neighborhood and neighboring Al-Jamea had become the "target
of the day" for terrorists - an indirect reference to
Dulaymi's security detail. Council of Representative member
Alia Nasif al-Ubaidi (Iraqiyia, Shia Arab) claimed November
29 that it was well known that various politicians were
intent in carving out their territory in Baghdad. He said it
was "common-knowledge" that Dulaymi was focusing his efforts
on the al-Adil sub district, even to the point of employing
aggressive tactics against Shia to homogenize his area and
strengthen its Sunni identity.


7. (C) During a November 30 detention facility inspection
carried out by a US Embassy-MNF-I team, MoI interrogators
told Emboffs that family members had signed testimonies
alleging that the detainees had in fact killed their family
members.


8. (C) Comment: A number of residents believe that Dulaymi
and his guards are involved in forced displacement and other
violent activities. However, some of their complaints and
the publicity surrounding the guards' arrest may be
politically motivated. Based on complaints from Dulaymi
about treatment of the nine in custody, EmbOffs and an
investigative team visited the detainees on November 30;
septel will address issues related to their custody. Either
way, these recent reports point to heightened cross-sectarian
tensions in al Adel neighborhood, which can ignite if left
unchecked. On December 2, after a meeting Dulaymi reportedly
held with Sunni and Shia residents to discuss the security
situation in the neighborhood, four mortars and several
missiles hit targets close to the IPC headquarters, causing
significant damage to mosques and residential buildings, and
killing two people and wounding a third. End comment.
Khalilzad