ROMANIAN MOJ REQUEST FOR MUNAF HEARING FROM IRAQ

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUCHAREST 000017

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - AARON JENSEN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KJUS PTER PGOV PREL RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIAN MOJ REQUEST FOR MUNAF HEARING FROM IRAQ

REF: A. 2006 BUCHAREST 1883

B. 2006 BUCHAREST 19624


1. (SBU) The Ministry of Justice sent Embassy Bucharest a
request on December 29 for judicial assistance in connection
with two cases involving Mohammad Munaf, held in custody in
Iraq. This letter is the first received pursuant to reftel
guidance establishing a single formal channel for requests
for U.S. assistance in regard to the Munaf case.


2. (SBU) In summary, the MOJ letter recognizes that Munaf is
in Iraqi custody, but requests U.S. assistance to facilitate
a videoconference hearing of Muhammad Munaf 1) regarding the
GOR's terrorism charges against him and 2) as a witness in
the GOR's criminal case against Omar Hayssam. If agreed, the
MOJ would like to know the date of the hearing and the
contact information for the U.S. official coordinating
technical support. Lastly, the MOJ argues that it maintains
jurisdiction over Munaf on the terrorism charges due to the
nationality of the three Romanian journalists held hostage
and the harm done to Romanian state interests. Per reftel
guidance, Embassy Bucharest requests an interagency approved
response to these questions, which it will then convey to the
Romanian side in writing.


3. (SBU) Begin Embassy translation of original Romanian
text:

ROMANIA
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND TREATIES DIRECTORATE

To: Embassy of the United States of America in
Bucharest

CC: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
General Directorate for Global Affairs
Near East and Africa Division

The Ministry of Justice presents its compliments to
the Embassy of the United States of America in Bucharest
and has the honor to communicate the following:

In the criminal cases filed as 6595/2/2006 and
33970/2/2005 with the Bucharest Court of Appeal, Criminal
Section I, achieving justice is largely dependent on the
way the Iraqi authorities solve the requests of the
Romanian judicial authorities for judicial assistance --
namely the requests that U.S. and Iraqi citizen Mohammad
Munaf and other Iraqi citizens are heard.

Because Mr. Mohamad Munaf has U.S. citizenship and
because he is physically under the custody of U.S. troops
of the Multinational Coalition Force in Iraq, the support
of U.S. authorities is essential to finalize the request
for judicial assistance addressed by the Bucharest Court of
Appeal to the Iraqi authorities to hear Munaf either via
videoconference or by a regular rogatory commission.

The Ministry of Justice informs the honored Embassy
that on November 14, 2006 the Iraqi Ministry of Justice
expressed, verbally, its agreement to the hearing of Mr.
Munaf by videoconference. Therefore, on November 23, 2006,
with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and of the
U.S. Commander of the MNF-I, the video connection was
established and a first round of the hearing took place.
Due to procedural reasons, the hearing was postponed for
December 14, 2006, when, unfortunately, the hearing could
not take place, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad informing our
ministry that "the expressed accord of the Iraqi
authorities is missing" (accord, which in our opinion, had
been expressed, indeed only verbally, by the deputy
minister of justice, Mr. Pusho Dezaye.)

The Romanian Ministry of Justice requests the
honored embassy to continue to support before the competent
U.S authorities the request of the Romanian authorities in
order to achieve justice in this complex case of terrorism.
Because the Bucharest Court of Appeal has given a new term
- February 15, 2007 - in the criminal case no. 6595/2/2006,
the Embassy is kindly requested to communicate to this
ministry, in due time, if the U.S. authorities agree to the
hearing by videoconference of the U.S. and Iraqi citizen
Muhammad Munaf, accused of initiating an association for
terrorism purposes as well as of financially supporting
this association, (art. 35, para 2, Law 535/2004) and
complicity to terrorism (art. 26, Criminal Code; art. 32,
para 1 and 2, Law 535/2004; art. 189 para 1 and 2 of the
Penal Code) -- acts for which he was indicted by the
General Prosecutor,s Office, High Court of Cassation and

BUCHAREST 00000017 002 OF 002


Justice, Direction for Investigation of Organized Crime and
Terrorism together with defendant Omar Hayssam.
The honored embassy is also kindly asked to communicate the
position of the U.S. authorities to the proposal of hearing
Mohammad Munaf, also by videoconference, as a witness in
criminal case no. 33970/2/2005 filed at the Bucharest Court
of Appeal, Criminal Section I.
In case of an affirmative answer, the embassy is kindly
asked to communicate a date for the two hearings as well as
the contact information for the U.S. officials who would
help with the technical support.

To completely and correctly inform the Embassy, the
Romanian Ministry of Justice would like to mention the
following:

Starting in December 2005, the Romanian authorities
sent to the Iraqi authorities 5 requests for judicial
assistance in the criminal files of the Bucharest Court of
Appeal regarding U.S. and Iraqi citizen Mohammad Munaf.
These requests refer to the hearing, by a regular rogatory
commission or by videoconference, of Muhammad Munaf and of
six other persons: Al Qasir Salam, DOB 05/12/1971 in
Baghdad, Al Salmani Omar Jassam, DOB 03/01/1970 in Baghdad,
Al Slemani Abdel Jabbar, DOB 07/01/1956 in Baghdad, Al Amin
Youssef, DOB 06/10/1971 in Baghdad, Al Giuburi Ibrahim, DOB
01/12/1969 in Baghdad and Samarai Hakim, DOB 07/01/1956 in
Baghdad.
The hearing of Mr. Munaf is requested as a
defendant in file no. 6595/2/2006 with the Bucharest Court
of Appeal, Criminal Section I, and as a witness in file no.
33970/2/2005 with the same court. In file no. 6595/2/2006
Mohammad Munaf is on trial and in the other file Omar
Hayssam, a Syrian citizen, is on trail, taking into
consideration the splitting up of the two files due to
procedural reasons.

As regards the trial of Mr. Munaf for the acts of
terrorism
mentioned above, the Romanian Ministry of Justice would
like to stress that Romania has directly expressed its
intention to have this case judged within the Romanian
justice system. Indeed, immediately after the acts were
committed the General Prosecutor,s Office associated with
the High Court of Cassation and Justice, the Directorate
for Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism, ordered
the initiation of a criminal investigation of Muhammad
Munaf for terrorism against three Romanian journalists.
It must be stressed that there was no moment when
the Romanian authorities gave up jurisdiction over the acts
of Muhammad Munaf, exercising its jurisdiction on the basis
of the principles of international legal rights, the
jurisdiction being justified by the harm done to Romanian
state interests, which is derived from the Romanian
nationality of the victims.

The Romanian Ministry of Justice sends to the Embassy
of
the United States of America in Bucharest its appreciation
for support and its high regard.
Bucharest, December 29, 2006

End translation of text.
TAPLIN