MGLE01: REQUEST MADE TO GOL FOR EXPULSION OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000304 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH AMMAN AND BERLIN FOR LEGATT E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2016 TAGS: LE PGOV PREL PTER KCRM SUBJECT: MGLE01: REQUEST MADE TO GOL FOR EXPULSION OF TERRORISTS HAMADEI, IZZ-AL-DIN, ATWA, MUGHNIYAH REF: A. SECSTATE 12817 ¶B. BEIRUT 00286 Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman. Reason: Section 1.4 (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) In accordance with ref (A),Ambassador delivered talking points and associated documentation to support the USG demand that Lebanon expel, or otherwise deliver into US custody, the four terrorists complicit in the hijacking of TWA 847: Mohammod Ali Hamadei, Hasan Izz-al-Din, Ali Atwa, and Imad Mughniyah. On February 1, the Ambassador explained the request and its political implications to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. On February 2, the Ambassador met with both Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and Minister of Justice Charles Rizk to explain the seriousness with which USG views this request and delivered the supporting legal documents, which provided legal justification for the requested action. PM Siniora acknowledged the import of the situation and promised that his government would do all it could under Lebanese law. Justice Minister Rizk went further and personally instructed senior appellate judge Chukri Sader to determine if there was a legal way to comply with our request. Foreign Minister Salloukh, who is one of the five Shia ministers currently boycotting the Siniora cabinet, had a much cooler response, saying his ministry would study the "technicalities" of the request. End summary. PRIME MINISTER SINIORA -------------- ¶2. (C) As reported in ref (b),the Ambassador met with Prime Minister Siniora at the Serail Palace on February 1. Despite the continuing crisis over the withdrawal of several Shia ministers from the cabinet, the discussion of the USG request dealing with fugitives Mohammod Ali Hamadei, Hasan Izz-al-Din, Ali Atwa, and Imad Mughniyah took precedence over all other issues. Siniora listened carefully to the felony charges that have been filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the arguments delivered by the Ambassador to counter GOL's previously stated claim that the cases involve double jeopardy. The prime minister, accompanied by his senior advisor Mohammad Chatta, who when he served as Lebanon's ambassador to the U.S. had received the mother of Robert Stethem and strongly identified with her loss, explained to the Ambassador that his government would do what it could to comply with the U.S. request, but it was critical that Lebanese law be respected. Siniora asked for USG understanding of the political reality of Lebanon at this time. He stated his belief that Syrian President Bashar Asad, and the radical elements in Hizballah and the Palestinian rejectionist groups, would like nothing better than for the Hamadei situation to damage relations between the U.S. and the reformist Siniora government. When he learned that the Ministers of Justice and Foreign Minister would shortly be receiving USDOJ documentation supporting the request, Siniora promised the Ambassador he would personally track the handling of the file and ensure a comprehensive official response as soon as practicable. MINISTER OF JUSTICE -------------- ¶3. (C) The Ambassador met with Minister of Justice Charles Rizk at his Ministry the following day, February 2. Upon presentation of the U.S. argument for the expulsion of the fugitives from Lebanon, Minister Rizk called in Chukri Sader, a senior judge serving at the appellate level in Lebanon's judiciary, and a respected former prosecutor. He explained the situation and asked Sader to carefully examine not only Lebanese law, but also all international anti-terrorism and anti-hijacking conventions that have been signed by Lebanon, to see whether the GOL could comply with the USG request. Rizk told the Ambassador that he remembered well the images of the day that TWA 847 stood on the tarmac of Beirut International Airport. He assured the Ambassador that he would diligently pursue the request and coordinate the government response. However, Rizk also reminded the Ambassador that critical political factors were involved, specifically the protection being provided by Hizballah to the felons. MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS -------------- ¶4. (C) A corresponding meeting with Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, also on February 2, was contentious. Minister Salloukh repeatedly interjected extraneous issues into the Ambassador's presentation of the facts, ranging from the injustices of the civil war to his interpretation of legal concepts. Salloukh, who to a measurable degree owes his position to support from Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah, displayed increasing irritability as the Ambassador made the USG case. He demanded that the Ambassador remember the "situation in Lebanon at that time...when thousands of Lebanese received the same treatment." ¶5. (C) Ignoring that only one of the fugitive felons had ever appeared in court, Salloukh insisted that "justice had been rendered" by the judicial system of Germany and to ask Lebanon to do more was not reasonable. The minister also turned away arguments that Lebanon should fulfill its responsibilities under applicable anti-terrorism conventions to which it is a party by arguing that domestic law must always take precedence. ¶6. (C) At the conclusion of a lengthy exchange that centered on the sanctity of Lebanese law, Salloukh acknowledged the seriousness of the charges and promised to study the "technicalities" of the USG request and the accompanying documentation. The minister finished the discussion by saying he respected the letter from the Secretary and promised that the request would be "treated seriously." COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Given the Lebanese legal system (which includes guarantees against extraditing Lebanese citizens) as well as the political realities of Siniora's problems with the Shia (the community from which all four fugitive felons derive), we need to keep our expectations low. Nevertheless, both Siniora and Rizk took our demarche seriously. They conveyed both by words and body language their understanding of the importance and sensitivity of this issue to us. We expect that we will get a substantive response, and we will continue to press the case with them. While the MFA is the official channel for such requests, we do not expect any constructive comments from Salloukh. FELTMAN