(SBU) KRG DETAINEES

S E C R E T KIRKUK 000025

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

BAGHDAD FOR POL, POL-MIL, NCT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/4/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: (SBU) KRG DETAINEES

REF: 05 KIRKUK 259

CLASSIFIED BY: RBELL, PRC, PRC, DOS.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (C) SUMMARY. The Kurdistan Regional
Government-Sulaymaniyah (KRG-S) Interior Ministry says it has
information only on 15 of the 200 or so names on the U.S. list
of individuals allegedly detained in Kirkuk and taken to the
KRG. The Minister says 3 have been released and the remaining
12 had been convicted in Kirkuk province and are now being held
in KRG prisons because of the shortage of prison space in Kirkuk
province. The KRG-Erbil Interior Ministry says it has
information on only 12 of the detainees and is "ready to do as
asked" with those, e.g., release them. The Minister says that
the MOI-E had simply been asked by the Kirkuk police to hold the
detainees, not investigate them. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Kurdistan Regional Government-Sulaymaniyah (KRG-S)
Interior Minister Othman Haji Mahmud (whom PUK expects to stay
on as Interior Minister for the unified KRG) told Regional
Coordinator (RC) and Deputy (DRC) January 26 that he had
information only on 15 of the 200 or so names on the U.S. list
of alleged Kirkuk provincial detainees taken to the KRG. He
said 3 had been released: Ramazan Taha Awad on December 31;
Arkan Hamad Latif on January 16; and Ahmed 'Abd-al-Wahid Ahmed
on January 18. Othman said the remaining 12 had been tried and
convicted in Kirkuk province and were now being held in KRG
prisons because of the shortage of prison space in Kirkuk
province. RC agreed it was not a problem if those properly
convicted of crimes in Kirkuk were serving their prison terms in
the KRG if the transfer was done according to law and was
transparent.


3. (S) KRG-Erbil (KRG-E) Interior Minister Karim Sinjari told
RC, DRC and IPAO January 29 that the MOI had information on 12
of the detainees and was "ready to do as asked" with those,
e.g., release them. RC asked Sinjari to check KRG-E to see
whether it ever held any of the others. Sinjari agreed to do
so. He remarked that the MOI-E had simply been asked by the
Kirkuk police to hold the detainees, not investigate their
alleged crimes. He admitted that taking and holding them this
way might have been a mistake for the MOI. (NOTE: Coalition
Forces have no objection to releasing the 12. We have
approached the Kirkuk police to determine if they have any
objection. END NOTE.) Sinjari separately told the UK Consul
General that the 12 were those arrested by Coalition Forces.
Sinjari said other cases involved normal police liaison between
the Kirkuk police and KRG-E police on criminal or terrorist
charges.


4. (S) COMMENT. REO will follow up with the U.S. military to
request data on which detainees the U.S. military turned over to
the KRG-S and KRG-E. If that list includes more than the
respective KRG MOIs admit they either hold or have released, we
will follow up again.

DEAN