MUNICH PROSECUTOR DOES NOT ANTICIPATE EXTRADITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L MUNICH 000258

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (Caption added)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/25/2017
TAGS: KJUS PREL PTER GM
SUBJECT: MUNICH PROSECUTOR DOES NOT ANTICIPATE EXTRADITION
REQUEST IN AL MASRI CASE

REF: A. (A) BERLIN 730


B. (B) BERLIN 765

Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ERIC G. NELSON FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D
)


1. (SBU) ConGen Munich contacted Munich Deputy District
Attorney August Stern on April 24 in an effort to clarify
whether the "request for provisional arrest" by his office in
the Al Masri case (Ref A) would lead to a request for
extradition under Article 16 of the bilateral extradition
treaty between the U.S. and Germany. Stern asserted that his
office was not acting under Article 16 of the treaty, as the
Al Masri case was not a "case of urgency." Stern added that
while the request for provisional arrest would be a
prerequisite for any future request for extradition, he could
only follow-up with an extradition request provided the U.S.
authorities took the suspects in custody. If the U.S.
authorities did not arrest the suspects -- which he said he
did not/not expect they would -- he could go no further with
the case. "I can only follow up with an extradition request
once the suspect has been arrested," Stern told us.


2. (SBU) Stern reiterated his view that this type of
bilateral request for provisional arrest is normal legal
practice since he understands the U.S. generally declines to
act on international arrest warrants ("Diffusion Notices"),
such as those he had already submitted through Interpol
channels. Stern confirmed that the request for provisional
arrest had not yet arrived with German federal authorities in
Berlin, as it was still pending translation of documentation,
which could take another week or two.


3. (C) Comment: Stern's answers to our specific questions
about Article 16 and the potential for an extradition request
are consistent with what he had told us previously. Before
he would give us a final answer, he consulted with
international law experts in the Bavarian Ministry of Justice
for clarification that his office's actions did in fact not
fall under Article 16. We note that Stern has demonstrated a
lack of familiarity with aspects of international law to us
before, as he was not certain whether his office's initial
request constituted a "Red Notice," or "Diffusion Notice."


4. (U) This report has been coordinated with EMBASSY Berlin.


5. (U) Previous reporting from Munich is available on our
SIPRNET website at www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/munich/ .
NELSON