BORREL CASE: DJIBOUTI ACCUSES FRENCH NATIONALS OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000356

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E AND G/TIP
PARIS, ROME, LONDON FOR AFRICA-WATCHER
CJTF-HOA FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2018
TAGS: PREL KJUS KPAO KCRM DJ FR
SUBJECT: BORREL CASE: DJIBOUTI ACCUSES FRENCH NATIONALS OF
PEDOPHILIA

REF: DJIBOUTI 309

Classified By: PolOff Rebecca K. Hunter for reasons 1.4(b) and (d)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Ten days after a French court convicted two
senior Djiboutian officials on charges of witness subornation
(reftel) in connection with investigations into the 1995
death of French magistrate Bernard Borrel in Djibouti, a
Djiboutian court issued international arrest warrants for
five French nationals on charges of child sexual abuse. The
arrest warrants, which received prominent coverage in
state-run media, are a result of the GODJ's ongoing
investigation into a pedophilia ring allegedly active in
Djibouti in the 1990s. Borrel's widow has accused the GODJ
of involvement in his death, while the GODJ has continued to
underscore that the original French investigation found that
he had committed suicide. Moreover, the GODJ has suggested
that Borrel's death may somehow have been linked to the
activities of the alleged pedophilia ring, and has indicated
that an unspecified number of additional French citizens are
still under investigation in connection with the affair. END
SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) On April 7, Djiboutian investigating magistrate
Abdoulkader Ibrahim Issack issued arrest warrants against the
following five French nationals--none of whom currently
reside in Djibouti--for "acts of pedophilia" allegedly
committed against students and street children under their
care in Djibouti in the 1990s:

--Claude Sapkas-Keller, a former judicial advisor to previous
Djiboutian president Hassan Gouled Aptidon
--Patrick Millon, a former communications advisor to previous
Djiboutian president Hassan Gouled Aptidon
--Father Aubert, a priest formerly residing in Djibouti
--Frederic Graziani, a former physical science teacher in
Djibouti
--Thierry Guibaud, a former history and geography teacher in
Djibouti.

According to Issack, the warrants stem from complaints filed
by two Djiboutian citizens, currently in their twenties.
Beyond these five, Issack indicated that additional French
diplomatic and military officials resident in Djibouti
between 1994 and 1998 were under investigation for similar
offenses.


3. (SBU) Djiboutian President Omar Ismail Guelleh announced a
cabinet reshuffle on March 27, the same day the Versailles
Court levied an in-absentia verdict against two senior
Djiboutian officials on charges of illegally influencing the
testimony of two witnesses in the Borrel case (reftel). In
his first speech to the new Cabinet, Guelleh called for
action against those who "stole the innocence of our
children," and accused France of trying to "hide the real
cause of the death of Judge Borrel, pedophilia."


4. (SBU) The Borrel case has featured prominently in recent
editions of Djibouti's state-run national newspaper, "La
Nation." Under the headline "The French State Continues to
Hide the Truth," a full-page article on April 9 included
images of purported DGSE documents on the Borrel case,
labeled "Confidential: Defense." Another version of the same
article was reprinted on April 10, with a different set of
imaged documents. The article claims that the accompanying
documents were publicly available on the website
"geopolitique.com" until a French court began questioning the
journalist who posted them, Guillaume Dasquie.


5. (SBU) The "La Nation" coverage argues that the featured
documents prove the French government's long knowledge that
Borrel's death was, as the French officials here concluded in
1995, a suicide. In particular, the article points to a
sentence from one document attesting that Borrel was
"psychologically disturbed in the weeks which preceded his
death." Two other documents are cited to call into question
the credibility and motives of Mohamed Saleh Alhoumekani, one
of the witnesses allegedly influenced illegally by the two
convicted Djiboutian officials. These documents note
Alhoumekani's history of disciplinary sanctions during his
service in the Djiboutian Gendarmerie, and note that his
testimony in the Borrel case "seems to be essentially
motivated by his application for status as a political
refugee in Belgium."


6. (C) COMMENT: These five arrest warrants may be just the
opening salvo in the latest Franco-Djiboutian skirmish over

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the Borrel case, now thirteen years old but still
overshadowing bilateral relations. The GODJ has promised to
continue investigating those who "abused poor street
children." While the main ring under investigation was
allegedly active in the 1990s, the GODJ has not ruled out
investigation into French personnel currently residing
in-country. Despite the accusations and counter-accusations,
the GODJ is not likely to let this incident rupture relations
with France, particularly as Djibouti relies on the presence
of nearly 3,000 French troops in Djibouti for its territorial
defense under mutual agreements. END COMMENT.
SYMINGTON