COMOROS/FRANCE: MARCH 31 UPDATE ON BACAR'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARIS 000599 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS KDEM PHUM PINR CN FR SUBJECT: COMOROS/FRANCE: MARCH 31 UPDATE ON BACAR'S SITUATION REF: A. ANTANANARIVO 242 ¶B. PARIS 589 Classified By: Political-Minister Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, 1.4 (b/d ). ¶1. (C) MFA Comoros desk officer Jacques Biau on March 31 provided an update on former Anjouan leader Col. Bacar. Biau reported that Bacar and his 22-member entourage were in French custody at an airbase in Reunion. Biau said that there were three separate but related legal proceedings in progress: (1) Bacar's request for political asylum; (2) the request for extradition from the Union of the Comoros; and (3) a GOF investigation concerning the Bacar party's illegal entry into French territory, including the fact that the group was armed when it arrived in Mayotte, itself an offense. Biau said the case was becomingly increasingly complex because of the three issues and the different set of GOF agencies and procedures involved in each. Although we were told on March 28 (ref B) that the case would be processed on an expedited basis and that a ruling might be issued "within days," Biau cautioned that resolving this matter would "take awhile" and he refrained from predicting when a ruling would be made. ¶2. (C) Biau confirmed that there was no formal extradition treaty between France and the Comoros, but he said that that would not be an obstacle should the GOF decide to expel Bacar and his associates. One of the factors the GOF would consider, however, was the existence of the death penalty in the Comoros, which Biau said could affect any decision to extradite him. Biau said he would keep us informed, and he thanked the USG for its statement supporting the military operation that led to Bacar's ouster. Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm PEKALA