AL-MUA'JJIL'S TRAVEL BAN IN FULL EFFECT & IIRO

S E C R E T RIYADH 006927 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2031 TAGS: EFIN KFTN PREL PTER ETTC SA SUBJECT: AL-MUA'JJIL'S TRAVEL BAN IN FULL EFFECT & IIRO BRANCH CLOSED FOR BUSINESS REF: (A) STATE 6467 (B) 134081 Classified By: DCM MICHAEL GFOELLER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (U) This is joint Riyadh and Consulate Dhahran cable. ¶2. (C) Summary: A press report and a Consulate visit to the closed offices of IIRO's Eastern Province Branch indicated that the Saudi Arabian Government (SAG) has kept its word on actions against recent designee, Abd Al-Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mua'jjil (AKA Abdul Hamid Sulaiman Al-Mujil),and the IIRO Eastern Province Branch. ¶3. (U) On August 21, The Arabic daily, Al-Yaum, based in Dammam, reported information on Al-Mua'jjil and the IIRO's Eastern Province Branch. The article stated, "Dr. Abdulhamid Suleiman Al-Mujil, professor at King Faisal University in Dammam and current member of the EP IIRO Branch, said he does not plan to travel outside the Kingdom at this time due to the US Treasury Department's accusation that he financed members of al-Qaida. Dr. Mujil told Al-Yaum Daily that IIRO hired a lawyer in the U.S. to follow the case against him and IIRO's offices in Indonesia and the Philippines. He pointed out that he cannot at this time travel outside the Kingdom for fear of an international notice (warrant) against him. He added that his lawyer will forward his questions through U.S. legal channels. Al-Mujil said that his case has been combined with a previous civil case against IIRO in the U.S." ¶4. (C) PolOff paid a low-profile visit to the headquarters of the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) in Dammam to determine if Saudi Ambassador Prince Turki's assurances to U/S Levey (reftel B) that the IIRO-EP had been "shut down" had in fact been implemented. The offices of the IIRO-EP are locked and deserted. Egyptians laborers who work in the same building where the main branch of the Dammam IIRO is located, and who pray at the same mosque as the IIRO employees, report that they have not seen anyone in the office space in almost two weeks. PolOff and PD FSN also drove by one of the satellite offices to find it closed and the organization's trucks sitting idle outside of the buildings with a thick layer of dust on them indicating that they had not been used or moved for a considerable period of time. There are nine smaller branch offices of the IIRO in the greater Dammam area. We placed anonymous calls to each of them and no one picks up the phone at any of them. ¶5. (S) Comment: Al-Mua'jjil's press statement that he will not be traveling outside of Saudi Arabia is an indication that the SAG's ban on his travel is in effect. To date, the Mabaith has not provided any information from the IIRO's Eastern Province Branch investigation. According to intelligence sources, the investigation could still take many weeks. OBERWETTER