PANAMA: NORIEGA EXTRADITION AND FRANCE

UNCLAS PANAMA 000189 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KJUS KCRM PGOV PREL FR PM SUBJECT: PANAMA: NORIEGA EXTRADITION AND FRANCE -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) French Ambassador to Panama Christophe Philibert provided Ambassador on February 5 a non-paper concerning the extradition of former Panamanian strongman Manuel Antonio Noriega to France (para 2). Philibert also provided a draft press communique on the matter for use in Panama (para 3). End summary. -------------- Non-Paper -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Philibert provided the following non-paper, prepared in English. (Note: Philibert personally translated this non-paper to English from French, and it contains a number of English spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.) Begin text: Situation of Mr. M. Noriega in France. The Paris court of justice (tribunal de grande instance) has condemned Mr. Manuel Antonio Noriega, in his absence, on July 1st, 1999, to a penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 75 millions francs (now over 11 millions euros) for having carried out financial operations between France and foreign countries with money coming from illegal traffic of narcotics. His wife, charged together with Mr. Noriega, Ms. Felicidad Sieiro, has also been sentenced in the same judgement to 10 years in prison and a fine of 100 millions france (more than 15 millions euros). The Republic of Panama, plaintiff claiming damages, could not obtain from the court that Mr. Noriega and Mrs. Sieiro be sentenced to a compensation of 380 millions francs (nearly 58 millions euros) for moral and material damage to the Panamanian State. The Republic of Panama has brought an appeal, and the Paris Court of appeal will examine this appeal on Nov. 20, 2007. It is admitted that the sentence of 1999, having been pronounced in the absence of Mr. and his wife, is not definitive. Therefore the claim of the Republic of Panama will be examined only after the penal sentence is definitive. The illegal actions have been committed on french soil, in Paris and Marseilles. The court has delivered an order to arrest (Mr. Noriega and Mrs. Sieiro). Mr. Noriega, as soon as he arrives in France, will have the possibility to be judged again in his presence. The facts for which Mr. Noriega is now in prison in the United States being different from those explaining his condemnation by a french court, Mr. Noriega will have, if he is extradited to France, to purge his offences (prison and fine of 1999, or new ones in the case he would be sentenced differently after a new process. In march, 2004, the French ministry of justice, on the basis of the bilateral extradition treaty of 23 april, 1996 between France and the US, has sent to the US authorities a request to obtain the extradition of Mr. Noriega. In a note of april 6, 2006, the US State Department has asked France written assurances on our capacity to recognize, during his possible detention in France, to Mr. Noriega the status of prisonner of war, recognized to him by the US authorities in application of the Geneva convention of August 12, 1949. On January 25, 2007, we gave the answer that France could not recognize directly this status to Mr. Noriega because of the nature of the facts laid to his charge. However, Mr. Noriega could, once in prison in France, benefit from most of the rights defined in the Geneva convention. And as a former head of State, he could be granted special conditions for his time in detention. In the coming weeks, the US authorities will inform France on their decision on the french request for extradition. Because the Republic of Panama has also requested the extradition of Mr. Noriega, the US uthorities will have to decide to which country Mr. Noriega will be transferred./. CP End text. -------------- The French Embassy's Draft Press Guidance -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The following is an informal translation, from Spanish, of the French Embassy's draft press guidance on the "Noriega affair." Begin text: Title: Press Communique of the Embassy of France in Panama related to the Noriega case. Text: France submitted a request for the extradition of Mr. Manuel Antonio Noriega in April of 2004 to U.S. authorities in connection with a judicial decision announced on July 1, 1999 by the Tribunal of Major Instance of Paris for having conducted financial operations between France and foreign countries with funds originating from crimes against the laws on narcotics. France and the United States are bound by an extradition treaty of April 23, 2996. This request is, as per customary practice, subject to examination of the North American authorities. End text. Eaton