TERRORIST CELL SUSPECTS FORMALLY CHARGED; JUSTICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000932 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017 TAGS: PTER PGOV KISL ASEC KPAO BA SUBJECT: TERRORIST CELL SUSPECTS FORMALLY CHARGED; JUSTICE MINISTER CONFIDENT REF: A. MANAMA 913 ¶B. MANAMA 876 ¶C. MANAMA 831 ¶D. MANAMA 820 ¶E. MANAMA 794 ¶F. MANAMA 790 Classified By: Ambassador Adam Ereli for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The Minister of Justice confirmed that the prosecutor presented to a judge his case against five extremist defendants October 1, and that their trial will begin on October 23. While cautioning that the defendants may challenge the constitutionality of the new counter-terrorism law, the Minister was confident that the law would withstand scrutiny and that the prosecutor would win convictions. End summary. ¶2. (C) In a meeting with the Ambassador on October 8, the Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al-Khalifa, confirmed press reports that the prosecutor in the terrorist cell case has formally presented to a judge his case against four Bahrainis and a Qatari. (Note: The Qatari is presently in QATAR and will be tried in absentia. It is unclear when or if the GOB will request his extradition.) The trial is set to begin October 23 before a three-judge panel, though Sheikh Khalid cautioned that it could take as long as a year to complete, if the defendants challenge the constitutionality of the new counter-terrorism law. ¶3. (C) The Minister, himself a former prosecutor, said that the prosecutor, Ghanim Al-Buanain, presented to the judge October 1 cases against the five men against whom there is evidence strong enough to support convictions. Three others were released from custody after investigators determined that their actions had not crossed the line into criminality and after receiving religious counseling designed to counter jihadist ideology. Sheikh Khalid said that the accused will be tried under the new counter-terrorism law passed in 2006 on charges of membership in a terrorist organization, undergoing terrorist training, facilitating the travel of others abroad to receive terrorist training, and financing terrorism. The Minister dismissed the activities of Hashim Abdullah and his Al-Adala movement as political theatre and predicted that there would be little public sympathy for the defendants. (Ref B reports that an Al-Adala rally in support of the defendants drew only 50-60 people.) ¶4. (C) Sheikh Khalid told Ambassador that it is important that the public see that the government is dealing with the case seriously. He said that the prosecutor is being very careful because the case is a critical test for the new counter-terrorism law. Sheikh Khalid explained that a constitutional challenge could take place in two ways: the trial court could question the constitutionality of a particular point of law (unlikely in this case),or the defendants could raise a constitutional challenge during the trial. If the challenge originates with the defendants, they may only plead their case before the Constitutional Court after the trial court has agreed to allow the petition to go forward; they would have a three month window in which to do so. The trial court may deny such a petition outright, if it deems the challenge to be without merit. Should a challenge go before the Constitutional Court, the criminal trial would be put on hold pending the outcome of the constitutional question. ¶5. (C) Noting the possibility that the trial could be lengthy, the Ambassador asked whether the defendants might be released on bail during the trial. The Minister allowed that it was possible that a judge could place them under house arrest during constitutional appeal. Criminal trials are normally open to the public, but Sheikh Khalid noted that it was within the discretion of the three-judge panel to close the proceedings. ¶6. (SBU): Subsequent to the meeting, the Minister's office provided emboff with the names of the five accused: Ishaaq Faheem Ishaaq, Mohammad Abdulkareem Al-Khan, Abdulrahman Mohammad Jaffar, Ali Eid Muttar Jassim, and Khalifa Al-Subayi. (Note: Al-Khan and Al-Subayi remain at-large.) Up to now, the GOB has closely guarded the names of the accused, preferring to wait until charges were formally filed before providing them to us. The GOB has still not released these in the media. ¶7. (C) Comment: The timing of the presentation of the cases for trial, as well as the charges themselves, track with what MANAMA 00000932 002 OF 002 we have heard from our GOB interlocutors over the past month-and-a-half. The GOB appears to be confident that the counter-terrorism law will stand up to constitutional scrutiny and that the government's evidence, as yet undisclosed publicly, will result in convictions. ¶8. (C) Comment continued: The Minister of Justice is a strong and committed advocate for fighting terror. He was the prosecutor in the Bahrain Six case, who saw these malefactors released on a constitutional challenge, and he doesn't want to see another set of bad guys go free. He subsequently authored Bahrain's tough new counter-terrorism law, which for the first time criminalized the activities for which the present cell members are to be tried. Notwithstanding his bullishness, there are scenarios in which the trial could end in something less than a conviction and jail time. A drawn-out process, which might include a lengthy constitutional challenge, could give Sunni political elements who are opposed to what they see as a witch-hunt against their constituents (ref A) added opportunity to increase pressure on the government to cut a deal. We have consistently told the GOB that any sign of accommodation would reflect negatively on Bahrain's reputation for combating terror. ********************************************* ******** Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ ********************************************* ******** ERELI