NINEWA: TERRORISM COURT AT A TIPPING POINT -

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 003572

SIPDIS

SECSTATE FOR USAID

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV PTER KJUS IZ
SUBJECT: NINEWA: TERRORISM COURT AT A TIPPING POINT -
TRAVELING JUDGES NEEDED (AGAIN)

Classified By: Ninewa PRT Leader Jason Hyland for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)

This is a Ninewa Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) message.

Summary
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1. (C/REL ACGU) The Ninewa Major Crimes Court, which tries
the most difficult terrorism and corruption cases, is failing
due to Chief Justice (CJ) Medhat's September 13 decision to
abruptly end the province's "traveling judges" program.
While the overall justice system in Ninewa functions
effectively, the traveling judges program needs to be
reinstated to return the effective adjudication of these high
risk cases. For the past seven months, five panels of judges
from Baghdad came to Mosul to try those cases in the Major
Crimes Court (MCC). The panels were productive and effective
because they were secured in a protected compound and immune
to the local tribal, familial and terrorist pressures faced
by Ninewa judges. They tried 192 cases and provided
necessary oversight for the local Investigative Judges (IJs).
With local judges now staffing the Mosul Major Crimes Court
(MCC),the court has indefinitely postponed three-quarters of
its 25 cases since September 13 because the judges fear for
their safety.

Background: The MCC Begins, and is Effective
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2. (C/REL ACGU) In November 2005, Ninewa's criminal justice
system was not functioning effectively for terrorist and
corruption cases. The PRT's Rule of Law Section proposed the
formation of a traveling court to bring judges from Baghdad
to Mosul to begin trying these controversial cases. CJ
Medhat formed a panel of Ninewa IJs and sent three judges
from Baghdad to conduct trials in Mosul. The Baghdad judges
lived and worked in a secure compound, supervising the local
IJs and trying cases until the docket was cleared.


3. (C/REL ACGU) The MCC in Mosul conducted five trial panels
between December 15, 2006 and August 3, 2007, the results of
which were:

- 192 Cases Tried
- 218 Defendants Tried, of these 120 were convicted and 98
acquitted

The main obstacle to the MCC had been the local IJs and their
failure to forward cases for prosecution. The IJs are
subject to local intimidation and corruption but the
supervision provided by the visiting panels of trial judges
helped ensure the success of MCC. Absent such outside
supervision, there was no likelihood that justice would be
served in the MCC in Mosul.

Promises from Baghdad...Broken
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4. (C/REL ACGU) In an August 27 meeting with PRT leader and
BCT Commander, CJ Medhat promised that the visiting judge
program would continue in Mosul, despite previous comments to
the contrary. However, on September 13 Medhat issued an
order directing the appointment of a local panel of trial
judges, giving in to pressure from the local bar association,
who had fought the MCC since its inception. The local trial
panel told the PRT that they had postponed consideration on
18 of 25 terrorism cases they had seen due to the danger they
perceived to their lives and the lives of their families.
Since beginning to hear cases on September 30, the local
panel has adjudicated only seven cases; four of these were
acquittals.

Comment - Traveling Judges
the Only Way Forward...For Now
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5. (C/REL ACGU) Mosul MCC needs traveling judges to ensure
that corruption and terrorist intimidation does not prevent
the adjudication of the hundreds of terrorism cases pending
in Ninewa. The local MCC Panel has expressed interest in
participating in the program currently used in Kirkuk, in
which they would go to Baghdad to backfill for a traveling
panel from Baghdad. (NOTE: The Kirkuk program appears to be
a very positive one, and PRT Ninewa is seeking a solution
that protects the gains made there.) This approach would

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build nationwide judicial capacity by putting Ninewa judges
in a situation where they could practice without fear for
their and their families' lives while simultaneously allowing
the backlog of cases in Ninewa to be cleared. The PRT is
working with our military and Iraqi colleagues to solve the
judicial security dilemma, but for now, judges from Baghdad
are the only way ahead.
BUTENIS