TWO MORE FORMER GTMO DETAINEES ACQUITTED

S E C R E T KUWAIT 000159

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, S/WCI AND S/CT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/06/2018
TAGS: PREL KDRG PTER PREL PGOV KU
SUBJECT: TWO MORE FORMER GTMO DETAINEES ACQUITTED

REF: A. 07 KUWAIT 0965

B. 07 KUWAIT 0851

C. 07 KUWAIT 0800

D. 07 KUWAIT 0478

E. 07 KUWAIT 0319

F. KUWAIT COUNTRY REPORT ON TERRORISM 2007

Classified By: CDA Misenheimer for reasons 1.4 b and d


1. (S) On February 6, Kuwait's highest court, the Court of
Cassation, acquitted former Guantanamo detainees Omar Rajib
Amin and Abdullah Kamel Al-Kandari of all terror-related
charges. With this ruling, the Court of Cassation has now
acquitted seven of the eight former detainees released to
Kuwait (ref D). The eighth detainee, Nasser Najr Balod
Al-Mutairi, reportedly died in 2007, although post has no
information pertaining to the exact date or circumstances of
his death.


2. (U) According to press reports, Kuwait's public prosecutor
failed to convince the court that the defendants endangered
Kuwait's ties with friendly nations by joining Al-Qaeda and
the Taliban to fight against western forces in Afghanistan.
The Criminal Court and the Court of Appeals previously
acquitted these defendants of the same charges (refs B and E).


3. (S) This string of non-guilty verdicts highlights the
difficulties of prosecuting terrorists in Kuwait. First,
Kuwait has not yet enacted comprehensive anti-terror
legislation. Instead, the GOK prosecutes extremists under
various existing criminal statutes. This has proven to be
ineffective. To date, post has been unable to confirm
whether the GOK has even drafted anti-terror legislation.
Instead, GOK interlocutors say that Kuwait is waiting for the
Arab League to draft anti-terror legislation, to which the
GOK would then subscribe.


4. (S) Furthermore, the Kuwaiti judiciary has shown no
appetite for upholding stiff sentences in more
straightforward terrorism cases. In 2005, a group calling
itself the Peninsula Lions was involved in an armed
confrontation with Kuwaiti security forces. In 2007, the
Court of Cassation commuted the death sentences of four of
these defendants to life sentences (ref A). Furthermore, the
Court of First Instance acquitted three other Peninsula Lions
of all charges (ref C). The Court of Cassation is currently
reviewing the guilty verdicts of the remaining 32 defendants
in that case. In 2002, twelve individuals attacked two U.S.
service members outside a military base near Failaka Island.
In 2007, the Appeals Court acquitted five of these
defendants, while the Court of Cassation reduced the fines of
two defendants from USD 700,000 to USD 7,000 (ref F).


5. (S) Post has little information on the death of the eighth
Guantanamo detainee, Nasser Najr Balod Al-Mutairi. In a
conversation with POTUS on January 11, the Amir said that
Al-Mutairi died in 2007. However, the Amir offered no
details on the exact date or circumstances of his death.
(Note: Post formally requested details from the GOK but has
not yet received a full response. GOK diplomatic note no.
20080026, dated January 6, 2008, stated that Al-Mutairi had
died of pulmonary illness. End note.) The GOK continues to
press for the release of the remaining four Kuwaiti
Guantanamo detainees.

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For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/?cable s

Visit Kuwait's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/
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MISENHEIMER