DJIBOUTI RESPONSE ON SOMALI PIRACY SUSPECTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DJIBOUTI 000383 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF STATE ALSO FOR AF/E DIRECTOR EUNICE REDDICK AND AF DEPUTY DIRECTOR DEBORAH MALAC DOD FOR AF DAS THERESA WHELAN E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/27/2016 TAGS: PREL MARR PHSA SO DJ SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI RESPONSE ON SOMALI PIRACY SUSPECTS REF: A. DJIBOUTI 361 ¶B. STATE 046195 Classified By: AMBASSADOR MARGUERITA D. RAGSDALE. REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Ambassador met 3/26 with Acting Foreign Minister Badri Ali Bagoreh and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Bilateral Affairs Director Mohamed Ali Hassan as a follow up to reftel (B) request to the Government of Djibouti on the suspected Somali pirates. Bagoreh and Hassan advised Ambassador that Djibouti had agreed that the nine Somalis could transit Djibouti enroute to the U.S. and urged her to contact Col. Hassan Said Khaireh, Director of National Security Services, to convey modalities of the transfer. ¶2. (C) Ambassador, accompanied by Acting ORA Chief, met 3/27 with Khaireh and Khaireh's Deputy, Abdillahi Mohamed Abdillahi. Khaireh informed Ambassador that he had agreed, based on a request at Ambassador's behest the week prior, to accept two wounded Somalis for immediate transfer to a medical facility in the Gulf. He said he had seen the points the Ambassador presented 3/23 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (reftel A) and understood that this was a similar request. ¶3. (C) Ambassador explained that the U.S. is now asking if Djibouti would be amenable to detaining on a temporary basis, in a Djiboutian facility, any or all of the nine Somalis who may ultimately not be charged in a U.S. judicial case. She added that the U.S. would be willing to cover the expenses of such detention as well as any follow-up medical care those detained may require. ¶4. (C) Khaireh replied that Djibouti had no objection to the arrival in Djibouti of the Somali detainees, as long as the U.S. took full custody of them and responsibility for their detention and care. He suggested they be held at the U.S. military base in Djibouti with U.S. marshals or military personnel. He explained that Djibouti did not have the facilities, outside of Gabode Prison, to detain such individuals. If they were held in Gabode, Khaireh said, they would become an issue for Djibouti's Ministry of Justice -- a problem, in that they had committed no crime in Djibouti. Khaireh went on to say that detaining the Somalis would be an enormous responsibility and carry a great deal of risk, including the possibility the detainees might harm themselves or be harmed by others. Some may require medical care that Djibouti was not in a position to provide. In either case, he said, Djibouti could be held responsible for their fate. He also expressed concern that the Ambassador could not state if a case would be brought or provide a firm date for their departure. ¶5. (C) While Khaireh said Djibouti could not agree to take custody of the nine Somalis, he repeated that Djibouti had no problem with their detention at Camp Lemonier. Djibouti would only require in such a scenario, he said, to know the date of their arrival at the Camp, their identities, and the date they leave Djiboutian territory. ¶6. (C) Comment: General Timothy Ghormley, Commander of CJTF-HOA based at Camp Lemonier, has informed the Ambassador that Camp Lemonier does not have the holding capacity to detain the nine Somali piracy suspects. In addition, detention of such suspects is incompatible with CJTF-HOA's mission in the Horn in outreach and in civil affairs. End comment. RAGSDALE