Home
| Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06PARIS2069 | 2006-03-30 13:39:00 | SECRET | Embassy Paris |
Cable title:
UPDATE/FAREWELL FROM TERRORISM INVESTIGATING JUDGE
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1. (S) Summary: Jean-Francois Ricard, terrorism investigating judge for 12 years and deputy to renowned investigating judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, is being promoted and transferred to the Ministry of Defense to work as chief magistrate for military penal affairs. Speculation abounds that Ricard is being groomed to replace Bruguiere, who is nearing the mandatory French civil service retirement age of 65. In a March 28 meeting with poloff, Ricard discussed a range of C/T issues, including the "jihadists to Iraq" investigation, the Christian Ganczarski case and the conclusion of the ex-GTMO detainees investigation. End summary. -------------------------- --- CHANGES AMONG THE TERRORISM INVESTIGATING JUDGES -------------------------- --- 2. (S) Ricard described his new position at the Ministry of Defense as advisor on military jurisprudence and informal advisor on C/T matters to Defense Minister Alliot-Marie, with the title of "magistrate general." He also plans on continuing in an informal advisory role with the terrorism section of the Paris Prosecutor's office. Ricard said it was possible he would return in two to three years to take Bruguiere's position. Leaving for a higher-level position, as is the case for his new job at the Ministry of Defense, is a prerequisite to being eligible for Bruguiere's job. 3. (S) When asked whether his replacement would be one of the recently hired terrorism investigating judges, Ricard said no. His replacement would likely be someone more senior who already has the confidence of the DST, RG and DGSE intelligence agencies. Ricard explained that the specificity of a veteran terrorism judge like himself or Bruguiere is that they are shown all manner of raw intelligence, even that which can never be included in judicial investigations. Being trusted by the intelligence agencies with this type of information is a slow process, said Ricard. As an example, he said it was only after five years as a terrorism investigating judge that the intelligence agencies allowed him to see the full scope of raw intelligence. Of all the terrorism investigating judges in the Paris Prosecutor's office, only he and Bruguiere are given this latitude, said Ricard. Relationships within the French intelligence and C/T world evolve slowly. 4. (S) Ricard confirmed that Bruguiere was seeking a position in a future Sarkozy administration, either as Minister of Interior or deputy Minister of Interior. Traditionally, such positions are given to elected officials (with the notable exception of current PM Villepin), and therefore Bruguiere will likely run as a UMP candidate for deputy in the third district of Lot-et-Garonne (southwest France) in the June 2007 legislative elections (ref B). -------------------------- "JIHADISTS TO IRAQ" -------------------------- 5. (S) Ricard said the open-ended dossier on "jihadists to Iraq" continued to dominate the workload of the terrorism investigating judges. Within the dossier are four separate investigations, and interest among French Islamic radicals in fighting "jihad" in Iraq continues. Recently, Ricard said he had questioned a suspect in one of the investigations who had converted to Islam in prison, and upon his release, was focused on leaving for Iraq. Iraq has begun to overshadow the Israel-Palestinian conflict as the obsession for many Muslim prisoners, said Ricard. -------------------------- EX-GTMO DETAINEES -------------------------- 6. (S) Ricard confirmed that the investigation of the six ex-GTMO detainees was finished, and the Paris Prosecutor will likely charge all of them with "terrorism conspiracy." Although the maximum prison term is ten years, Ricard did not believe that any of the six would be given the maximum. The investigating judges had successfully kept the Guantanamo issue out of the actual case files, but it would be impossible for the judges issuing the sentences not to take PARIS 00002069 002.2 OF 002 into account the detainees' previous imprisonment at Guantanamo, said Ricard. He considered only two of the detainees - Khaled Ben Mustafa and Redouane Khalid - to be serious threats. Ricard added that he and Bruguiere had fought to keep Ben Mustafa and Khalid imprisoned, but the length of their pretrial detention, coupled with their detention at Guantanamo, had swayed the "liberty and detention" judge to release them on bail. The trial of the six ex-GTMO detainees should begin in mid-May, said Ricard. Only one detainee, Brahim Yadel, is still in prison. -------------------------- THE INVESTIGATION OF CHRISTIAN GANCZARSKI -------------------------- 7. (S) German convert Christian Ganczarski and Moroccan national Karim Mehdi were arrested in 2003 and since then have been in French custody under suspicion of having ties with al-Qaeda. Their investigation continues, but Ricard said he is convinced that Ganczarski was aware of the planning for the 9/11 attacks. He mentioned a video he had seen showing Osama bin Laden lecturing, Ganczarski listening to bin Laden in the front row and Mohammed Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers, right behind him. Ganczarski refuses to talk at all, said Ricard. "In another time, he would've been an SS general," Ricard added. -------------------------- TUNISIA, GICM AND LIBYA -------------------------- 8. (S) In other updates, Ricard said intelligence-sharing relationships recently had become strained between Tunisia and France. The strain originated on the Tunisian side, said Ricard, and he assumed that it was due to political calculations. (Comment: Since a FM Douste-Blazy visit to Tunis last fall, the GOF has become more outspoken on human rights in Tunisia, though still much less so than the U.S. End comment.) Regarding the Moroccan terrorist group GICM, Ricard said investigations into a GICM cell discovered in 2005 were wrapping up, and he expected those arrested to go to trial in September. Finally, the GOF had picked up some signs that small terrorist groups made up of individuals from North Africa are quietly using Libya as a training base, said Ricard. He speculated that the Libyan intelligence services are generally aware of this and working to disrupt them, but said it would likely be difficult to do so given that the groups are very small. 9. (U) Tripoli minimize considered. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm Stapleton |