RELEASE AL-MARRI, EDITOR ASKS AMBASSADOR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000838 SIPDIS, SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KAWC KPAO QA SUBJECT: RELEASE AL-MARRI, EDITOR ASKS AMBASSADOR -------------- KEY POINTS -------------- -- Abdulaziz al-Mahmoud, Chief Editor of Arabic-language daily "Al Arab," published a letter to Ambassador on November 29 asking him to "help release Ali al-Marri or guarantee him a fair trial." -- Al-Marri is a Qatari citizen being held at the Naval brig in Charleston, South Carolina. In his letter, the Chief Editor quotes al-Marri's attorney as alleging abuse, torture, and mistreatment. -------------- COMMENTS AND REQUEST -------------- -- (SBU) Abdulaziz al-Mahmoud is a well-respected media professional among Qataris, and hails from a family that is considered to be pious. For that reason, his writings on issues such as human rights conditions in Qatar often carry a great deal of weight with Qatari readers. -- (SBU) Embassy welcomes any Washington views on if, and how, to respond -- especially if the USG has responded publicly to similar letters about other foreign citizens under detention. -------------- FULL LETTER TEXT -------------- Following is the full text of the letter, published as an op-ed, as translated by Open Source Center's Doha bureau: Dear Ambassador ... I Will Kiss Your Head, If You Will Do It Dear U.S. Ambassador, Lawyer Andrew Savage's eyes are always on the verge of filling with tears whenever he explains how his client Ali Salih al-Kahlah al-Marri is being tortured and pressured in order to crush his morale and dignity. The Lawyer speaks quietly, using hand gestures to explain every situation he wants us to understand. Mr Savage did his best to explain the circumstances of Al-Marri's detention. Moreover, he has volunteered to defend Al-Marri, which he has been doing for years. He is spending a lot of time and money defending him; he even buys halal [permissible according to Islamic law] meat for his client while his wonderful wife cooks it and takes it to him, along with some dessert. Al-Marri now has a family in the United States, from where he least expected. I was about to cry when Andrew Savage was telling me about the detained young man. However, I kept on taking deep breaths and tried thinking of something else. The lawyer noticed this and was changing the subject every now and then to defuse the tense atmosphere. Ali Salih al-Kahlah al-Marri flew to the United States a day before �0A;11 September 2001 - that ill-fated day which turned the world up-side-down and caused bloodshed with and without reasons. Al-Marri's tragedy began when a group of US security personnel knocked on his door on 12 September 2001. He was taken into custody, leaving behind his wife and five children - of whom the youngest was six months old. Since then, Al-Marri has been detained without any charge or trial. Al-Marri was transferred from one detention center to another under different pretexts and was subjected to various kinds of torture and interrogation methods. He was not allowed to contact anyone and he became susceptible to hallucination, suspicion, and lack of concentration. His morale was broken and he was forced into a kind of isolation because he was not allowed to talk to his jailors, read newspapers, listen to the radio, or watch TV. Al-Marri spent years without wearing shoes. He does not know what warmth is, and has not slept on a comfortable bed. He has been surviving on dry cold food and no longer has a sense of time, date, or directions, to the point that some of his jailors felt sorry for him. Dear Ambassador, I hope you will read my letter and sympathize with this young man, who has never been a terrorist. He has never killed anybody. He was not found guilty of terrorism, murder, or of planning anything either. Is it logical for a murderer to take his family - his wife and five children - to carry out a terrorist operation? Was Ali Salih al-Marri made of steel to withstand all this torture without being able to obtain a single piece of information that could incriminate him? What are the terrorist activities that he has done to deserve such isolation from the world without a trial? Dear Ambassador, DOHA 00000838 002 OF 002 I have lived in the United States for a while, and left behind friends, colleagues, and loved ones whom I still remember. I loved your country's freedom, laws, opportunities, and dreams. In the United States, I loved everything a free man would love in a country. So why, dear ambassador, would such values be scattered and distorted in the minds of those who love the United States. Ali al-Marri has a family that awaits him. His children have grown up without knowing him. He has a wife, a mother, brothers, sisters, and relatives who long for his return to end their sadness with tears of joy. They look at the clothes he will wear, and the bed that is being prepared every day in anticipation for his return. His shoes are at the door waiting for him to wear. These things have become strange to him now after seven years. Al-Marri's family dream of him playing with his young ones and laughing with them. They dream of seeing him at the door to his home. Can you help us fulfill this d ream? Sir, I plead to you with all the values you believe in, to do your best to help release Al-Marri or guarantee him a fair trial. Under which law or jurisdiction could an individual be detained with no trial for so many years? Which legal text allows whomever to do whatever they want with people's lives? Sir, I have never met Ali Salih al-Marri, but I saw him in the eyes of his lawyer who assured me that he is innocent. Sir, do you think that Andrew Savage would voluntarily defend a terrorist, who intended to destroy his country? Would he ask his wife to prepare food for a terrorist or pay visits to his detention center? I am ready to kiss your head, in a gesture of gratitude to your generosity and efforts, if Al-Marri returns home. We want Ali Bin-Salih al-Marri back as an active member in our society, and as an advocate of freedom and human dignity - values which he is about to forget if he has not already done so. LEBARON