SPECIAL COURT WANTS MORE MONEY, SUPPORT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000484

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, S/WCI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/12/2016
TAGS: PREL KAWC SL NL
SUBJECT: SPECIAL COURT WANTS MORE MONEY, SUPPORT

REF: FREETOWN 360

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas N. Hull, reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

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Summary
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1. (C) On June 9, visiting AF/W Director Phillip Carter and
PolOff met separately with three principal officials at the
Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL): Registrar Lovemore
Munlo, Acting Chief Prosecutor Christopher Staker, and
Principal Defender Vincent Nmehielle. There appeared to be
consensus on the Court's completion calendar, with Munlo and
Staker agreeing that CDF and AFRC trials could be finished by
the end of 2006 and that the Charles Taylor case could be
done within a year from its start. The RUF trial is moving
more slowly and is still in the prosecution phase, which may
end by August. Staker had glowing reviews of Charles
Taylor's current defense counsel, Karim Khan. Munlo and the
Chief Security Officer said that they feel comfortable with
the security of the Court for now. Munlo said that it would
be up to the Management Committee and the UN to determine
whether a new trial chamber should be convened for the Taylor
trial. Munlo also said that he needs our support in
arranging for detainee medical care abroad. Nmehielle said
that the Principal Defender's office is unable to provide the
support necessary for defense attorneys to provide a basic
defense for indictees, but that the SCSL is light years ahead
of other international tribunals in protecting the rights of
the accused. Munlo does not appear to be a strong leader, as
was his predecessor, and future budgets may warrant extra
scrutiny of defense-related expenditures to ensure adequate
support is being provided to the defense. End Summary.

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Completion Calendar for CDF, AFRC, RUF
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2. (U) Munlo said that the three ongoing cases are moving
along well and that earlier, falsely optimistic estimates of
the Court's completion were based on flaws in the operational
strategy ("We were not following our own rules," Munlo
said.). For example, the defense phase of the CDF trial
started later than expected, Munlo said, because no one took
into account the time necessary for the defense motion of "no
case to answer." (i.e., three weeks for the defense, three
weeks for the prosecution, one week for defense rebuttal,
four to five month judicial review.)


3. (U) The CDF defense phase, Munlo said, should be completed
by December, as should the AFRC defense. The CDF judges are
now working on the ruling of the Defense request to subpoena
President Kabbah. (Note: Staker calculated optimistically
that CDF and AFRC defense phase could finish in October,
closing arguments would be over by the end of the year,
judges' decisions would be available three months later, and
then the existing staff could redeploy to the Charles Taylor
case. End Note.)


4. (U) Munlo said that the RUF prosecution phase, which
started in the summer of 2004, he hopes will be complete by
August. The RUF defense phase, then, would start next year.
(Note: The RUF and CDF cases share a courtroom and have to
alternate. The AFRC case has its own courtroom and is moving
much faster. End Note.)


5. (U) The Appeals Chamber, Munlo said, should take less than
six months per case for a total of 18 months. Although the
Management Committee has said the projection for the appeals
timeline is too long, Munlo said that it is important to
remember the non-negotiable timelines written into the
Court's rules (i.e., 14 days are allowed to appeal a case,
three weeks are allowed to present grounds for appeal, etc.).

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Taylor Trial: Back-of-the-Envelope Budget,
Timing, Security, New Trial Chamber?
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6. (C) Staker had glowing reviews of Charles Taylor's current
defense counsel, Karim Khan. "Khan is eminently reasonable,"
he said, especially since he is filing no preliminary motions
in the case (which can save approximately seven months) and
it also appears that he is willing to stipulate the facts of
the conflict itself. (Note: It has taken a good deal of time
in the other cases to establish that certain atrocities took

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place. Khan's strategy, it appears, will not be to argue
these facts: rather, he will argue that Taylor had no
connection to them. Khan's provisional contract ends on July

4. If he is still deemed to be indigent (the Court has not
yet been able to find Taylor's assets),Taylor will get to
choose his defense team from a list of attorneys presented to
him by the Office of the Principle Defender. End Note.)


7. (U) Both Munlo and Staker said that if Taylor's defense is
willing to stipulate to the facts of the case, the Taylor
case could be finished within one year. Munlo said that his
initial back-of-the-envelope calculation for the Taylor trial
in The Hague is approximately $23 million.


8. (C) Munlo and SCSL Chief of Security Joe Poraj-Wilczynski
said that they feel comfortable with the security of the
Court for now. Although it looks easy in the movies,
Poraj-Wilczynski said, it would be extremely difficult for
Taylor supporters to penetrate the Mongolian-guarded complex.
"If the Nigerians were still guarding the Court, it would be
another story," Poraj-Wilczynski said. Asked whether there
were any indications that Taylor supporters were planning any
disruption, Poraj-Wilczynski mentioned that they were
monitoring Taylor's supporters in country. He also mentioned
Amcit Michael Chemidlin's recent photographs of the Court
complex (for which he is still facing charges, see reftel),
but then dismissed the issue. "We think that they took those
pictures hoping they could sell them to someone,"
Poraj-Wilczynski said. (Comment: Given Chemidlin's travel
plans and connections with dubious "church" officials, we are
not so sure about that, but we have no other evidence to
offer. End Comment.)


9. (U) As for convening a new trial chamber, Munlo said that
it would be up to the Management Committee and the UN Office
of the Legal Advisor. Staker added that convening a third
trial chamber would also require an amendment to the
statutory agreement between the UN and the Government of
Sierra Leone and that the UN Secretary General and the GoSL
would each get to nominate candidates. Names of potential
candidates are already being floated, and Staker mentioned a
few: Gabrielle Kirk-McDonald (Former ICTY president),David
Hunt (ICTR),and Florence Mumba (ICTY, ICTR Appeals Chamber).
Staker said that if a new tribunal is to be convened for the
Taylor case, then it would be crucial to choose judges who
have experience in overseeing war crimes cases, since it
takes them a while to "get on their feet" (i.e., move the
judicial process along and not grant too much leeway to the
defense.)

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Medical Care in Senegal
for Norman, Sesay
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10. (U) Munlo said that he is particularly concerned about
the medical needs of two indictees. Hinga Norman, he said,
needs hip replacement surgery and Issa Sesay has a bullet
lodged in his hip. Although neither has a life-threatening
condition, permanent damage could result if the conditions
are left untreated. (Note: Norman's tests for prostrate
cancer came back negative, but he could break his hip because
of his current condition. Sesay's bullet wound has caused a
crack along the bone. End Note.)


11. (U) Neither detainee can receive appropriate medical care
in Sierra Leone, Munlo said, and consulations with other
nations in the region (Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal) have been
unsuccessful. The best hope for a solution is with the
Government of Senegal, which is willing to take the detainees
but is not willing to sign an agreement stipulating, among
other things, that the detainees would not be allowed to
request asylum. The Government of Canada is currently
negotiating with the Senegalese, but Munlo requested U.S.
assistance in helping to close the deal. (Comment: Carter
was noncommittal. End Comment.) Munlo is worried about
public opinion, especially since many believe that Norman is
wrongfully incarcerated.

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Principal Defender's Office:
The Bureaucratic Underdog
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12. (U) The Principal Defender's Office is unable to provide
the support necessary to provide a basic defense, Nmehielle
said, and defense teams are starting to file motions to that

FREETOWN 00000484 003 OF 003


effect. While investigators for the prosecution conduct both
local and international investigations, Nmehielle has trouble
securing even one vehicle for transportation upcountry to
visit former fighting bases, Nmehielle said. One of the most
basic problems, he said, is bureaucratic. Unlike the
Prosecutor's Office, which is independent, the Principal
Defender's Office is subordinate to the Office of the
Registrar. "When we submit a request for funding," Nmehielle
said, "the budget staff will say, 'You don't need that.'"
One of the problems is that the budget staff sees the accused
as already guilty, which negatively affects the quality of
service to the Defense.


13. (U) When making up the draft staffing list for Taylor's
trial in the Hague, it was the same thing. Nmehielle asked
for a staff of three: duty counsel, legal advisor, and a
support staffer. The prosecution has more than that, he
said, and he was still told that he needed to pare down the
request to include only a legal advisor.


14. (U) On the bright side, Nmehielle said, the SCSL is light
years ahead of other international tribunals when it comes to
defending the rights of the accused. In convening future
tribunals, however, creating an independent office of the
defense will be an important point.

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Comment
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15. (C) The new Registrar appears to be feeling more
comfortable with his new job, but his comments regarding
budgets, timetables and Hinga Norman's medical needs make him
appear to be more observer and reporter than driver. Charles
Taylor's upcoming trial will represent a significant new
budget requirement is only beginning to be calculated, since
the $23 million is only a rough estimate. Funding to support
the Defense may merit particular scrutiny to ensure
sufficient support and avoid possible grounds for appeal.
End Comment.


16. (U) AF/W Director Carter did not have an opportunity to
clear this cable before departing Post.
HULL