INTERVIEW WITH BAGRAM DETAINEE AHEAD OF POTENTIAL

S E C R E T KABUL 001093 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR P, SCA/FO (DAS GASTRIGHT),SCA/A (SINGRAM),S/WCI (MSHIN, MSTAMILLO),L/PM (EPELOFSKY),PRM/ANE (MAMLIN) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/03/2017 TAGS: MARR KAWC PINS PREL PTER AF SA SUBJECT: INTERVIEW WITH BAGRAM DETAINEE AHEAD OF POTENTIAL TRANSFER TO SAUDI ARABIA REF: SECSTATE 33341 Classified By: Political-Military Affairs Counselor Carol A. Rodley for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (SBU) This is an action request. Please see paragraph seven. ¶2. (S/NF) Post scheduled our Refugee Coordinator to interview Bagram Theater Internment Facility (BTIF) detainee Abdul Aziz Rashid Al Muteri (US9SA-001816DP) on March 24. As requested in reftel, Refugee Coordinator consulted beforehand with the sole DHS officer here, a TDY Customs Adviser, who advised that DHS would only have a role were Al Muteri seeking resettlement in the US. Cairo's Refugee Coordinator was away from post so was not available for consultation. Post Refugee Coordinator's interview with Al Muteri then did not take place, however, since the Refugee Coordinator was not able to travel from Kabul to Bagram due to lack of vehicles following recent attacks. Refugee Coordinator is now on leave but can interview Al Muteri after returning o/a April 28. ¶3. (S/NF) A BTIF officer advised polmiloff on March 26 that Al Muteri had asked if he could write a letter stating his views of his situation. Polmiloff discussed this request with ICRC on March 27 and it was agreed that if polmiloff asked Al Muteri to write a letter with no military personnel present, asked him open-ended questions about how he views his options and whether he has any fears, and if another detainee served as interpreter, the ICRC would consider the setting acceptably unbiased. ¶4. (S/NF) On March 29, polmiloff interviewed Al Muteri on those terms. She first met briefly with the designated interpreter, Afghan detainee USAF-001467DP, and confirmed that he speaks English fluently. Military officers then escorted Al Muteri (US9SA-001816DP) in and left for the duration of the interview. Polmiloff introduced herself as a US Embassy officer and clarified that the two EPD personnel standing guard were with the Embassy, not the military. She said she had come because she heard he wanted to write a letter and because she wanted to listen to his views of his situation. She stressed that while any decision about Al Muteri's situation was the military's, the military had agreed to consider what he told her during this interview. Al Muteri periodically expressed himself in limited though understandable English. Polmiloff has a very basic knowledge of Arabic but feels reasonably sure that the detainees spoke only about topics interpreted. She did not speak to Al Muteri in Arabic until the end of the interview when he expressed surprise but no discernible concern that she understood Arabic. Al Muteri was polite and repeatedly expressed thanks for the opportunity to state his own opinions. ¶5. (S/NF) Polmiloff asked Al Muteri whether he had any fears or worries and what he saw as his options. He said he did not have any fears and stated forcefully and repeatedly in both English and Arabic that he wanted to return to Saudi Arabia as soon as possible. Although asked several times about what he saw as his options during the hour-long interview, he spoke about none other than his strong desire to return to Saudi Arabia. He said nothing about concerns related to remaining in the BTIF. Al Muteri said that military interrogators had told him that if he returned to Saudi Arabia he might lose his nationality or be mistreated, but emphasized that he did not believe this himself. When asked why, he said that ICRC had relayed a letter from his brother in Saudi Arabia, who had assured him that if he renounced the "jihad mentality," he would not experience problems back home. When asked what had happened back in Saudi Arabia, he said he had served in the military and left for a reason he did not wish to explain and had been with a special guard unit. When asked what he thought would happen to him if he returned, he said he believed he would be tried by a special military tribunal, detained for 45 days, expelled from the military, and lose his guard force job. When asked if he anticipated any other actions, he said he did not expect further punishment. When asked why he thought this is what would happen, he cited both his brother's letter and that he was aware of similar situations when he served in the military. Polmiloff then asked him to write whatever he wished to say. He periodically asked what to include, and she suggested he state whether or not he had any fears or concerns, what he wanted to do, and what he expected would happen to him in future. The text of his letter, translated by the Office of Language Services, follows; the detainee number he cites is an internal number used at the BTIF. ¶6. (S/NF) In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate Greetings, and may God bestow His mercy and His blessings upon you. I am prisoner Number 1365. I am addressing this letter to whomever it may concern in the American leadership for the purpose of making my final decision known to this respected leadership. My decision is this: I have no problem going back to my home country and working again there. I am not harboring any evil thoughts, and I have no problem with or (?hesitation) (word partially illegible) about returning. I am willing to return to my native country at any time, and I hope to do honest work there. I hope to give up jihadist ideas, and never to return to jihad. (I hope) not to create any problem for my country domestically or abroad. I very much regret that I left my country to pursue jihad, that I exposed myself to danger and that I lost my future and my job. I do not say that I lost my life, and it is good that I did not lose my life. I will make up for all the mistakes I made by reforming myself and becoming a role model for young people. Reliable Expectations Upon Discharge from Prison and Returning to the Country: ¶1. I expect to be turned over right away to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or to the Ministry of the Interior. ¶2. I expect then to be referred to Intelligence for an investigation. ¶3. Then I expect to be arrested for questioning for a short period of time. ¶4. I expect to sign a document from the Saudi government certifying that I have repented and will not undertake jihad or cause my country any problems or harm. ¶5. I will then be discharged and sent home to resume a normal life. My expectation that this is what will happen is due to a letter I received from my brother. The letter was a good one. It says in the end that the Saudi government has declared that any person who wishes to return will be forgiven and set free to return home. In the final analysis this was a trick. I was tricked by the media and by jihad propaganda. 'Abd-al-'Aziz Rashid al-Mutairi Thursday, 03/29/2007 (illegible signature) ¶7. (S/NF) Please advise if the above interview satisfies the Department's concerns. If so, please advise OSD and post via front channel. CJTF-82 would like to consider transferring Al Muteri o/a April 7. If the Department sees a need for a further interview, please obtain guidance from DHS in Washington for Kabul's refugee coordinator or send a DHS Refugee Settlement Circuit rider to interview the detainee. NEUMANN