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. ********************************************* * 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/ ********************************************* * MISENHEIMER