Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06JEDDAH460
2006-07-08 14:26:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Jeddah
Cable title:  

SAUDI LAWYER CASTS DIM HOPE FOR REFORM

Tags:  KISL PGOV PINR PREL SA SOCI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3124
PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHJI #0460/01 1891426
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 081426Z JUL 06
FM AMCONSUL JEDDAH
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9306
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1451
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1529
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6635
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUMICEA/JICCENT MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000460 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP AND
INR/B; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2031
TAGS: KISL PGOV PINR PREL SA SOCI
SUBJECT: SAUDI LAWYER CASTS DIM HOPE FOR REFORM

REF: JEDDAH 454

Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JEDDAH 000460

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP AND
INR/B; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR TSOU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/05/2031
TAGS: KISL PGOV PINR PREL SA SOCI
SUBJECT: SAUDI LAWYER CASTS DIM HOPE FOR REFORM

REF: JEDDAH 454

Classified By: Consul General Tatiana Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: ConGenOffs met with a prominent Saudi lawyer
who cast a very dim light on social reforms underway in the
Kingdom. He explained that multi-level resistance to reform,
including opposition from within the King's inner circle,
insufficient public infrastructure, and general attitudes
that do not respect women's rights, will undercut change for
the foreseeable future. He expressed concern that the US
image in Saudi Arabia continues to decline but, at the same
time, noted that US companies are valued in the Kingdom. He
then explained the process for handling a corporate or
economic dispute by way of the Saudi court system and noted
that, regardless of bilateral political strains, US companies
generally receive fair protection, especially in cases
brought before the Board of Grievances. END SUMMARY


2. (U) On June 26, ConGenOffs met with Dr. Mujahid M.
Al-Sawwaf, an attorney who owns his own law firm in Jeddah.
Throughout the conversation, Al-Sawwaf shared his earnest
views of the state of reform, the Saudi legal system, and the
steady decline in support and image that the United States
has in the Kingdom. One particularly striking remark was
when he said that his "dream to make Saudi like the United
States is collapsing."

MULTIPLE HURDLES WILL KEEP REFORM ONLY SKIN DEEP


3. (C) Al-Sawwaf began by very frankly asking if ConGenOffs
wanted to hear the "official" story or the "truth" about
Saudi Arabia. He said that although some government
officials claim that reform is underway, those changes are
only on the surface and not happening at lower levels.
Al-Sawwaf said that he knows King Abdullah personally and
described him as a "genuine guy" who is "surrounded by
crooks." (NOTE: Al-Sawwaf's family has had a long
association with the royal family. His father was an advisor

to King Faisal and hanging in Al-Sawwaf's office is a large
photo of his father seated next to the former ruler.)
Al-Sawwaf said that the King does seem to want reform and to
open up Saudi Arabia, but that the King's inner circle does
not share that view. He suggested that no matter how
reform-minded the King is, changes will be hampered by the
resistance from other senior officials.


4. (U) Al-Sawwaf described basic Saudi society as a second
major barrier to reform. He said that because Saudi culture
does not respect women's rights, the push for reform is
making governing very difficult for King Abdullah. He added
that the country's lack of infrastructure and insufficient
ways for men and women to work together also weaken the
chances for reform, as costs associated with changing
physical spaces will only further strengthen resistant
attitudes. (NOTE: Saudi Arabia still has a very segregated
society where men and women generally do not mix freely.
They use separate entrances for many things, including
restaurants, and in offices and stores where only women are
permitted, protections such as frosted glass and walled off
areas are used to keep them from being seen from outside.
END NOTE)


5. (SBU) Al-Sawwaf said that the King's situation is
getting worse as Washington presses for changes that the
country as a whole is not prepared for. He then added that
Osama Bin Laden is "the most popular guy in Saudi" because
people think he represents a preservation of Islam rather
than a submission to the West. Al-Sawwaf also said that Al
Qaeda is doing a better job of transmitting its message in a
way that Arabs can relate to and that the dollars being used
to fund the Al Hurrah television channel are being wasted
because "no one watches it." He suggested that rather than
continue public diplomacy efforts that are "failures" it
would be better to work on ways to allow more Saudis to mix
with Americans.


US IMAGE DECLINING


JEDDAH 00000460 002 OF 003



6. (C) Al-Sawwaf said that he is concerned about the steady
decline of the US image in Saudi Arabia. Noting that he
thinks there is some sort of coordinated effort to shape
public opinion against the US, he shared that shortly after
the death of Al-Qaeda's Abu Musab al-Zarqawi many well-to-do
Saudi citizens received an email that said the "US version
(of Zarqawi's activities) was wrong." He stressed that the
email was from an anonymous source and that he and all of his
friends and colleagues had received the same message. (NOTE:
PolOff observed that Al-Sawwaf appeared very uneasy during
this discussion and seemed to be implying that the message
came from some sort of quasi-official source, although when
asked, he would not name any particular individual or group.
END NOTE) He added that he knew of 75 wakes that were held
in the Kingdom to honor Al-Zarqawi's death.


7. (SBU) Al-Sawwaf added that difficulties in getting US
visas and then passing through immigration into and out of US
airports are only aggravating Saudi views of the United
States. He said that he owns a house in New Jersey and that
his family had spent summers there for many years. This
year, however, is the first time that they did not travel to
New Jersey because they did not want to deal with immigration
problems. Al-Sawwaf said he thinks that the less time that
even moderate Saudis can spend in the US, the poorer the
bilateral relationship will be.

FOREIGN COMPANIES CAN GET FAIR PROTECTION IN SAUDI LEGAL
SYSTEM


8. (SBU) Al-Sawwaf's law firm deals primarily with
international trade cases and often represents US companies
in the Saudi courts. He said that "no one wants to lose US
companies" and noted that even though Saudi Arabia uses
Islamic economics, US companies and their agents in the
Kingdom use the same contracts that would be drawn up in a
Western system.


9. (SBU) Al-Sawwaf then explained that Saudi Arabia has
three legal bodies who can rule on corporate complaints. The
first is a set of arbitrators who can rule on a variety of
cases but who Al-Sawwaf described as highly corrupt. The
second are the "sharia" courts that use traditional religious
law to rule on primarily land-rights cases. The third system
is a Board of Grievances that Al-Sawwaf described as having
more educated judges and being very fair in their rulings.
He said that the Board of Grievances operates in accordance
with Islamic law because they do not award interest, and they
make rulings based solely on damages that can be measured,
often using the receipts from actual expenses in order to
calculate their findings. He then admitted that the Board of
Grievances is the group to whom he most often directs his
clients, because it costs less than a US court but still
provides a fair result.


10. (SBU) Al-Sawwaf described Saudi Arabia's use of agents
to represent foreign companies as an extension of the
Kingdom's tribal roots. He said that Saudi agents serve as a
form of "protection" for companies, like Bedouins have
protectors within their tribes. He noted that agency
agreements usually run for approximately 2-3 years.
Al-Sawwaf also shared that he generally encourages his
foreign clients who have a grievance against their agent to
pursue the claim in Saudi courts because the company will
almost always win.

UNLIKELY CHANGE IN SAUDI LEGAL SYSTEM


11. (U) Al-Sawwaf expressed an especially dim view of the
chances for reforming the broader Saudi legal system. He
said that judges in the Kingdom are becoming more
conservative and that press reports suggesting rapid change
are inaccurate. He also was skeptical that women will be
allowed to be full-fledged lawyers and judges in the near
future, noting that the Hanbali school of Islamic thought,
which is dominant in Saudi Arabia, does not allow women
judges and will prohibit them from ever being equal to men in
the courts. (reftel)

BIO NOTE:


JEDDAH 00000460 003 OF 003



12. (U) Al-Sawwaf studied law at Oxford in the 1970s. He
speaks excellent English and said that his daughter, who is
an American citizen, even developed a New York accent from
spending summers in the United States. He was a guest
professor at Harvard in the late 1970s. He said that he also
taught at Baghdad University prior to the rule of Saddam
Hussein and that several members of his extended family have
been killed in Iraq during the current war.
Gfoeller