SHI'A JUDGE IN AL-HASA SEEKS GREATER RESOURCES

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 000008 SIPDIS SIPDIS DHAHRAN SENDS PARIS FOR ZEYA, LONDON FOR TSOU E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/02/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM KIRF KISL SA SUBJECT: SHI'A JUDGE IN AL-HASA SEEKS GREATER RESOURCES FROM SAG REF: 2005 RIYADH 8582 (NOTAL) Classified by Acting Consul General Ramin Asgard for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) Acting CG and PolOff paid an introductory call on Sheikh Mohammad Al-Luwaimi, President of the Shi'ite Endowments and Inheritance Court in Al-Hasa, on December 28. Al-Luwaimi is the only judge in the only Shi'ite court serving the Shi'a population of Al-Hasa, a governorate in the Eastern Province centered on the Al-Hasa oasis. The overall population of Al-Hasa is about 800,000, of which, we believe, slightly less than half are Shi'a. The jurisdiction of Al-Luwaimi's court is limited to intra-Shi'a family law. According to another contact, there are 10 courts with 30 judges that serve Al-Hasa's Sunni population in all legal matters (as well as Al-Hasa's Shi'a population in matters that are outside the Shi'ite court's jurisdiction). ¶2. (C) Al-Luwaimi said that, although the Ministry of Justice now officially recognized the court, it did not provide the same level of resources it provided Sunni courts. The court is housed in a small, rented building tucked away in the back streets of Hufuf, the largest city in Al-Hasa oasis. Al-Luwaimi wrote the Ministry of Justice over a year ago requesting that his court be moved to a larger, government-owned building to accommodate the growth in petitioners and to give the court a more permanent and legitimate status. He said that the government recently placed an add in the papers seeking a larger building to rent for the court, suggesting that the Ministry did not intend to move the court to a government-owned building. Al-Luwaimi also acknowledged that his court faced the same jurisdictional problems as the Shi'ite court in Qatif (reftel),namely that Shi'a will sometimes exploit the differences between Shi'a and Sunni family law by seeking judgments in Sunni courts on issues that should fall within the Shi'ite court's jurisdiction. "People are free," he said, shrugging his shoulders to indicate his inability to stop the practice. ¶3. (C) Bio note: Al-Luwaimi appears to be in his early seventies. His eyesight is poor, but he acts quickly and decisively with the petitions brought to him. He studied jurisprudence in Najaf "before Sistani" and has been affiliated with the Shi'ite court in Al-Hasa for about 15 years, serving as its judge, first unofficially but now officially, since the previous judge died three years ago. He has 14 children ranging in age from 38 years to one year (the last one by an Iraqi wife). End bio note. (APPROVED: ASGARD) OBERWETTER