AL MASRI CASE UPDATE: MUNICH PROSECUTOR TO MAKE

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 000730

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/10/2017
TAGS: KJUS PTER PREL GM
SUBJECT: AL MASRI CASE UPDATE: MUNICH PROSECUTOR TO MAKE
REQUEST FOR PROVISIONAL ARREST TO THE USG

REF: A. BERLIN 242

B. BERLIN 230

C. BERLIN 200

Classified By: Minister-Counselor for Economic Affairs Robert

F. Cekuta for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (SBU) Following up on April 7 media reports indicating
the Munich State Prosecutor's Office planned to take a "new
legal step" in the Al Masri case, Mission approached both the
prosecutor's office in Munich and the Federal Justice
Ministry. The Munich Deputy District Attorney told ConGen
Munich April 10 his office has in fact requested that the
German Ministry of Justice transmit the arrest warrants --
which are already the subject of an Interpol "Diffusion
Notice" -- directly to U.S. authorities. The District
Attorney stressed this was not a request for extradition, but
rather characterized the request as a routine legal step in
arrest warrants involving U.S. citizens, as the U.S.
typically does not act on Interpol warrants alone.


2. (C) Embassy confirmed this information in a subsequent
conversation with Christian Johnson, Office Director in the
Justice Ministry's Divison for International Legal Assistance
and Extradition. According to Johnson, the request from the
Munich District Attorney's Office is a "request for
provisional arrest" pursuant to the provisions of the
U.S.-German bilateral extradition treaty. Johnson indicated
that the request had not/not yet been received by the Justice
Ministry. Johnson noted the Justice Ministry and the MFA
would both review any such request, but that in most cases
requests for provisional arrest were considered routine.
Johnson also pointed out that the request for provisional
arrest would not/not necessarily lead to an extradition
request. Even if the Munich prosecutor were to make a
subsequent request for provisional extradition, the request
would likewise have to be reviewed and approved both by the
Justice Ministry and the MFA. This review would entail
consideration of two major factors: (1) possible foreign
policy implications of the request, and (2) the likelihood
that the request would be acted upon positively by the United
States. Johnson believed that, at a minimum, the second
point would be a reason for Germany not/not to proceed with a
request for provisional extradition. Johnson said he
understood full well that the U.S. would not comply with such
an extradition request. He went on to note that the
U.S.-German bilateral extradition treaty did not obligate
either state to extradite its own citizens/nationals.


3. (C) Emboffs have continued to stress with German
counterparts the potential negative implications for our
bilateral relationship, and in particular for our
counter-terrorism cooperation, if further steps are taken to
seek the arrest or extradition of U.S. citizens/officials.
We most recently made these points with MOI and MOJ figures
on the margins of the April 4-5 U.S.-EU Justice and Home
Affairs Troika meetings in Berlin.
TIMKEN JR