Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PODGORICA246
2007-07-12 13:02:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Podgorica
Cable title:  

ABUSE ALLEGATIONS INTENSIFY AS EAGLE'S FLIGHT CASE

Tags:  CASC PREL MW 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO0598
OO RUEHPOD
DE RUEHPOD #0246/01 1931302
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121302Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0333
INFO RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT IMMEDIATE 0043
RUEHVB/AMEMBASSY ZAGREB IMMEDIATE 0041
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0148
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0018
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA PRIORITY 0018
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0012
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 0358
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PODGORICA 000246 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FRANKFURT FOR RCO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC PREL MW
SUBJECT: ABUSE ALLEGATIONS INTENSIFY AS EAGLE'S FLIGHT CASE
PROGRESSES


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PODGORICA 000246

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

FRANKFURT FOR RCO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC PREL MW
SUBJECT: ABUSE ALLEGATIONS INTENSIFY AS EAGLE'S FLIGHT CASE
PROGRESSES



1. (U) Summary: On September 9, 2006 the Montenegrin police
arrested 12 individuals, including three American citizens, on
suspicion of planning to use violence to disrupt the
Parliamentary elections scheduled for September 10. An
additional six were named in the indictment, three of whom are
not yet in Montenegrin custody. The individuals have been on
trial since May 14. Family members have conducted an active
campaign in Montenegro and the US and are asserting the
innocence of the accused. In recent weeks the campaign has
become more strident in tone, increased the focus on charges of
police abuse and expanded to include all Albanians, not just
Americans charged in the case. End summary






2. (U) Montenegrin police arrested nine Albanian-Montenegrins
and three Albanian-Americans on September 9, acting on the basis
of information received that a group of individuals planned to
disrupt the elections by firebombing mosques, kidnapping and/or
assassinating an ethnic Albanian member of Parliament, and
damaging government buildings. Police also seized a cache of
weapons. Although many of these were old rifles and thus not
unusual in a country where guns are common, but nonetheless
require licenses, there were also rocket propelled grenade
launchers and grenades among the weapons seized. A fourth
American citizen sought in connection with the purported plot
was subsequently arrested in Vienna and Montenegro applied for
his extradition. Austrian courts have ruled favorably on that
request and action is now with the Austrian Ministry of Justice
and Foreign Affairs.




3. (U) The Montenegrin prosecutor has charged that the Americans
are associated with an Albanian organization in Detroit,
loosely translated as the Albanian Immigrants Association, which
had previously provided funding to the Kosovo Liberation Army
and began in 2004/05 to promote the establishment of an Albanian
organization in the Podgorica area whose purpose would be to
create autonomous Albanian zones within Montenegro. The
prosecutor has charged that American citizens promised the
Montenegro based organization financial support as well as armed
fighters from Kosovo.




4. (SBU) During the initial consular visit with the detainees on

September 13, one had a very visible black eye, but declined the
consular officer's offer to protest this. All three professed
their innocence. In following weeks, family members went to the
press with reports of excessive force used by police at the time
of arrest and subsequently while the detainees awaited their
initial appearance before a magistrate on September 11 and 12.
Taking note of the press reports, on October 16, 2006, the
Charge urged the Minister of the Interior to initiate an
investigation. During a consular visit on October 27, 2006, the
three Americans signed statements asking the consular officer to
officially protest their mistreatment at the hands of the
police. According to contemporaneous notes they alleged that
during the first three days following arrest they had been
kicked, beaten, shoved, had their hair pulled and were denied
food. One stated that he had a gun pointed at his head. Another
stated that he had a plastic bag placed over his head and that a
policeman had threatened to take him to the north of Montenegro
and kill him. The Embassy on November 2 formally requested via
diplomatic note that the government of Montenegro fully
investigate these allegations of abuse and take all appropriate
measures to protect the rights of the detainees.






5. (U) The Embassy has visited the detainees on a regular basis
and sought to be responsive to their requests for medical
attention, phone calls to family in the US, and visits of family
members outside of regular visiting hours. The Embassy has
facilitated meetings for family members with senior Montenegrin
officials, and Embassy representatives have also met with family
members, representatives of the Albanian-American community who
have an interest in the case or who have been described as legal
representatives of two of the detainees. Initially the focus was

PODGORICA 00000246 002 OF 003


on the individuals' innocence and their perceived inability to
get a fair trial in Montenegro. There were complaints about the
length of time which elapsed between the September 9 arrest and
the December 7 filing of formal charges. (Embassy notes that in
a terrorism related case in the FRG, the arrest occurred in
July, 06 and formal charges weren't filed until the end of
April, 07) The Embassy was repeatedly in touch with the
Judiciary to urge an early start date for the trial as well a
regarding arrangements for interpretation. The trial is
conducted in the local variant of Serbian and the Americans all
requested interpretation in Albanian; this request was granted.





6. (SBU) Meeting with the Charge on February 7, 2007, an
Albanian-American lawyer who was at that time a legal
representative of at least two of the Americans, the lawyer
stated that his clients were innocent and deserved medals,
rather than arrest because when the use of violence came up at a
meeting they argued against it. When asked by the Charge if the
two had reported the matter to the authorities, he did not
respond.




7. (SBU) The trial began on May 14 and as it has progressed Post
has seen a shift in the focus of the family members and
supporters. While continuing to assert innocence, the focus
increasingly is on the allegations of abuse, now routinely
described as torture by the family members. The most outspoken
family member, who arrived in Montenegro shortly after the
arrests and has been here for much of the intervening time,
recently returned to the US to call on members of Congress and
various Albanian-American organizations to discuss the case and
elicit support. The tone of the letters and inquires from groups
in the US now focuses not just on the Americans on trial, but
also on the treatment of Albanian-Montenegrins. The tone has
become more strident and descriptions of the initial abuse have
grown. For example, in a letter recently received from and
Albanian-American organization it is asserted that one of the
Americans had three of his ribs broken and was transported to an
isolated and wooded area where a pistol was held to his head and
he was threatened with execution. (see para 4 for
contemporaneous account where he did not mention gun being
pointed at his head. mention ) . There is no medical
confirmation of broken ribs. The detainees have been seen by
independent medical personnel.




8. (SBU) Letters from Albanian-American organizations now deal
with the treatment of the American citizens and that of
Montenegrins. In one there is allegation that a Montenegrin
defendant had his arm broken by the police. A defendant
appeared in court recently, that is more than eight months after
the arrests, with his arm in a sling. According to the prison
warden he slipped in prison and suffered a fracture. While it is
possible that the prisoner was the victim of abuse by prison
authorities, it is notable that the Americans have not/not
alleged any abuse by prison authorities, referring only to abuse
in the immediate aftermath of arrest. Another new assertion is
that police used a blow torch to try and remove an Albanian
symbol tattoo from one of the Montenegrin defendant's body. Post
is sharing these charges with the Prosecutor's office which took
over the investigation of police abuse after a police
investigation proved inconclusive.




9. (U) A member of the US Congress twice phoned the Montenegrin
Ambassador in Washington seeking a pardon for the Americans,
although they have not been convicted of anything. The Member
then followed up with a phone call to the Montenegrin Prime
Minster the week of June18 which resulted in official complaints
to the Department and the Charge.




10. (SBU) A second Albanian-American lawyer who has observed the
trial recently told the Embassy that he believed all defendants
would be found guilty, with some receiving long prison
sentences. He was critical of the defendants' lawyers for their
failure to move the process along by allowing their clients to

PODGORICA 00000246 003 OF 003


making lengthy statements of marginal value to their defense.




11. (SBU) Whether it is the prospect of the arrival of the
American arrested in Vienna, whom Montenegrins view as the key
figure in the alleged plot, the fact that trial is entering its
end phase, or the somber assessment of an American attorney, the
supporters' campaign has become more strident and criticism of
the Embassy's actions has reached new levels. The adjournment of
the trial until September 11 is certain to precipitate further
criticism that the Embassy has not done enough on behalf of the
Americans.




12. (SBU) Post is hampered by staffing gaps, there is no
consular officer at present and the consular assistant who has
tracked the case will be resigning in early August. Nonetheless,
Post will continue to monitor the case, provide appropriate
assistance and attempt to provide factual information. It is
clear that the campaign of sensationalist information is having
an impact among groups in the US. It may, however, play less
well here, witness the reaction to the Congressional call.
BARNES