Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BERN209
2007-03-02 17:32:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bern
Cable title:
SEVEN SUSPECTS CLEARED OF MOST SERIOUS CHARGES IN
how-toVZCZCXRO3799 PP RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHROV RUEHSR DE RUEHSW #0209 0611732 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 021732Z MAR 07 FM AMEMBASSY BERN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3778 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEHYN/AMEMBASSY SANAA 0006 RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH 0080 RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0054 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2678 RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L BERN 000209
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR P, S/CT, EUR
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2017
TAGS: PTER ETTC SZ
SUBJECT: SEVEN SUSPECTS CLEARED OF MOST SERIOUS CHARGES IN
SWITZERLAND'S FIRST AL-QAIDA TRIAL
Classified By: Poloff Eric Lundberg, Reasons 1.4 b/d
C O N F I D E N T I A L BERN 000209
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR P, S/CT, EUR
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2017
TAGS: PTER ETTC SZ
SUBJECT: SEVEN SUSPECTS CLEARED OF MOST SERIOUS CHARGES IN
SWITZERLAND'S FIRST AL-QAIDA TRIAL
Classified By: Poloff Eric Lundberg, Reasons 1.4 b/d
1.(C) The Swiss Federal Criminal Court acquitted seven
suspected terrorist facilitators of membership in Al Qaida,
though six were found guilty of immigration violations.
Given time already served in pre-trial detention, all
suspects were allowed free, with defendants receiving up to
$76,000 in compensation. The case involved several Muslim
immigrants suspected of supplying false documentation to Al
Qaida terrorists, including Cole-bomber Abdullah al-Rimi.
The main defendant, Abdulhamid al Fayek, admitted to having
contact with al-Rimi, but denied any membership in Al Qaida.
The defense also tried to cast doubt on al-Rimi's involvement
in Al Qaida, and charged that al-Rimi -- by nature of his
incarceration in Yemen (until his 2006 escape) -- had been a
victim of torture, thus tainting any evidence Swiss
investigators might have acquired from Yemen.
2.(C) In its decision, the court focused on the difficulty of
establishing whether the suspects activities and other links
(such as cell phone and text message contacts with al-Rimi
and perpetrators of the Riyadh bombings) could comprise
"membership in a criminal organization," given Al Qaida's
amorphous organizational structure. The Swiss legal code
lacks a charge equivalent to conspiracy before the fact,
leaving membership in a criminal organization the most
serious charge available for Swiss prosecutors. Six of the
defendants were found guilty of smuggling several dozen
Yemenis into Switzerland and providing false identity
documents between 1998 and 2004.
3.(C) The Swiss Attorney General's office and Federal
Criminal Police expressed disappointment with the court's
ruling, but there was little surprise, given the constraints
in the law. Legatt cooperated with the Swiss investigation,
most substantially providing an FBI media exploitation team
to review electronic evidence. Swiss investigators recently
told Legatt that this assistance had been helpful.
4.(C) Following are the names and nationalities of the seven
suspects:
-- Abdulhamid al-Fayek Yemen
-- Jabr Rajeh Hassan al-Said Yemen
-- Said Ahmed Mohamed Taleb el-Hariri Yemen
-- Abdulhaim al-Hakim Yemen
-- Mareb Albaiyati Iraq
-- Assad Hizam al-Fayek Yemen
-- Omar Amin Somalia
End list of suspects.
CONEWAY
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR P, S/CT, EUR
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2017
TAGS: PTER ETTC SZ
SUBJECT: SEVEN SUSPECTS CLEARED OF MOST SERIOUS CHARGES IN
SWITZERLAND'S FIRST AL-QAIDA TRIAL
Classified By: Poloff Eric Lundberg, Reasons 1.4 b/d
1.(C) The Swiss Federal Criminal Court acquitted seven
suspected terrorist facilitators of membership in Al Qaida,
though six were found guilty of immigration violations.
Given time already served in pre-trial detention, all
suspects were allowed free, with defendants receiving up to
$76,000 in compensation. The case involved several Muslim
immigrants suspected of supplying false documentation to Al
Qaida terrorists, including Cole-bomber Abdullah al-Rimi.
The main defendant, Abdulhamid al Fayek, admitted to having
contact with al-Rimi, but denied any membership in Al Qaida.
The defense also tried to cast doubt on al-Rimi's involvement
in Al Qaida, and charged that al-Rimi -- by nature of his
incarceration in Yemen (until his 2006 escape) -- had been a
victim of torture, thus tainting any evidence Swiss
investigators might have acquired from Yemen.
2.(C) In its decision, the court focused on the difficulty of
establishing whether the suspects activities and other links
(such as cell phone and text message contacts with al-Rimi
and perpetrators of the Riyadh bombings) could comprise
"membership in a criminal organization," given Al Qaida's
amorphous organizational structure. The Swiss legal code
lacks a charge equivalent to conspiracy before the fact,
leaving membership in a criminal organization the most
serious charge available for Swiss prosecutors. Six of the
defendants were found guilty of smuggling several dozen
Yemenis into Switzerland and providing false identity
documents between 1998 and 2004.
3.(C) The Swiss Attorney General's office and Federal
Criminal Police expressed disappointment with the court's
ruling, but there was little surprise, given the constraints
in the law. Legatt cooperated with the Swiss investigation,
most substantially providing an FBI media exploitation team
to review electronic evidence. Swiss investigators recently
told Legatt that this assistance had been helpful.
4.(C) Following are the names and nationalities of the seven
suspects:
-- Abdulhamid al-Fayek Yemen
-- Jabr Rajeh Hassan al-Said Yemen
-- Said Ahmed Mohamed Taleb el-Hariri Yemen
-- Abdulhaim al-Hakim Yemen
-- Mareb Albaiyati Iraq
-- Assad Hizam al-Fayek Yemen
-- Omar Amin Somalia
End list of suspects.
CONEWAY