MOROCCO: REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO REFUEL

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 001793 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR S/WCI AND NEA/MAG E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/26/2016 TAGS: PINR PTER PREL MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO: REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO REFUEL REF: STATE 158489 Classified by Political Counselor Craig Karp for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (U) This is an action message. Please see paragraph 6. ¶2. (C) On September 25, poloffs notified the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USG's intent to repatriate Moroccan detainee Ben Moujan and the request to refuel the aircraft en route to other destinations (reftel). Counselor for Bilateral Affairs and Counterterrorism Karim Halim welcomed the proposal and offered that the transfer and refueling should not pose any problems for the GOM. ¶3. (C) Halim underlined that GOM concurrence would be predicated on the condition that other detainees on the aircraft not disembark at any point during the transfer. Halim stressed that the USG should provide as much advance notice as possible, preferably no less than four days. Halim also asked for more information about how long the aircraft would remain on the ground. ¶4. (C) Halim suggested that the aircraft land at Rabat-Sale airport, which is "more discreet and private" than Casablanca. Halim noted that after his arrival, Ben Moujan would appear before a court in Rabat competent to handle terrorism cases. ¶5. (C) For the moment, Halim will be the GOM's point of contact on this matter. He noted that the Ministry of Interior would become involved at a later date and would likely provide a point of contact as well. Embassy will provide any updates septel. ¶6. (C) Action request: In keeping with the GOM's requests, Embassy Rabat asks that Washington Agencies ensure that we can provide the GOM with no less than 96 hours advance notice of the date and modalities of the transfer. ****************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ****************************************** BUSH