CORRECTED COPY: MOROCCO PROVIDES DETAILED

S E C R E T RABAT 001005 NOFORN SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2018 TAGS: PTER PREL KCRM MO SUBJECT: CORRECTED COPY: MOROCCO PROVIDES DETAILED INFORMATION ON GUANTANAMO DETAINEES Classified By: A/PolCouns David Brownstein for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S//NF) Summary: In response to a U.S. request, the Government of Morocco (GOM) recently provided detailed information, via diplomatic note to Embassy Rabat, on the backgrounds of two Moroccan citizens currently being held in the U.S. detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In the note, the GOM expresses its strong interest in seeing the two individuals turned over to Morocco. Judging from Morocco's track record and the tone of this correspondence, Embassy Rabat believes that if the individuals are turned over to the Moroccan authorities, the GOM would prosecute these individuals to the full extent of Moroccan law. Judging from the considerable amount of derogatory information provided on both individuals, the GOM appears to have the basis for strong criminal cases against both individuals. End summary. ¶2. (S//NF) In response to a U.S. request, the Government of Morocco (GOM) recently provided detailed information, via diplomatic note to Embassy Rabat, on the backgrounds of two of its citizens currently being held in the U.S. detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The following is a verbatim text of a diplomatic note sent from the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Embassy Rabat on October 3, 2008. Begin text: ¶3. (S//NF) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco presents its compliments to the Embassy of the United States of America in Rabat and in reference to the Memo/Note entitled &Communication of the Procedures of the Guantanamo Administrative Reexamination Commission, given to the General Directorate for Bilateral Relations, has the honor of letting the embassy know that, after the investigations carried out by the appropriate services, the Moroccan authorities inform their American counterparts of the following information: ¶4. (S//NF) Younous Chekkouri, alias &Mouhibo Allah8 alias &Mahmoud8, Moroccan, born 1968 in Safi. Son of Abderrahmane Ben Mohamed Chekkouri and of Halima Bent Ahmed. His known address is Hay Anas, rue 7, n 7, Safi. He is the holder of passport n F138246, issued on 19 March 1990, which expired on 18 March 1995. Younous Chekkouri left Morocco in 1990, for Pakistan in the company of his brother Yassine Chekkouri (expelled by the Italian authorities in February 2004 and currently living in Safi) and his sister Nezha Chekkouri to join his brother-in-law, Ahmed El Ouazzani (died in Afghanistan). ¶5. (S//NF) He is one of the founders of the &Moroccan Islamic Fighting Group8 (GICM) in which he held the position of Chief of the Military Commission and member of the Consultative Council (Majliss Ashoura). He and his fellow believers had a very close relationship with the leadership of the terrorist organization &Al Qa,ida8. ¶6. (S//NF) In this framework, during the summer of 1999 in Kabul, in the company of his fellow member Karim Aoutah, alias &Salem8, (wanted),he met the Al Qa,ida number-two man, Ayam Addawahiri who gave them documentation related to the experience of the Egyptian group &Islamic Jihad8 concerning the organization and the recruitment, while expressing to them his predisposition to help the GICM in military and political matters. ¶7. (S//NF) Circa the beginning of August 2001, the members of the GICM Consultative Council (Majliss Ashoura),Younous Chekkouri among them, met at the complex 6 in Kandahar, the Al Qa,ida leaders Usama Ben Laden and Ayman Addawahiri to ask them to put at their disposal the military means and equipment in Al Qa,ida possession. ¶8. (S//NF) In his answer, Usama Ben Laden had given his agreement to have the members of the GICM take advantage of the paramilitary training organized in the Al Qa,ida camps, while informing them that his organization,s objectives were the fight against the international form of the apostasy illustrated by the United States of America and that this enterprise required the unification of the ranks of all the Islamist organizations. ¶9. (S//NF) During this same time frame (August 2001) another meeting was organized in Madafat Assalam in Kandahar in the presence of the Egyptian Mohamed Atif alias Abou Hafs Al Masri (former leader of the Al Qa,ida military commission, deceased) and the leaders of the GICM, notably Mohamed El Guerbouzi alias &Abou Aissa8 (Moroccan-Afghan, GICM leader living in Great Britain, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant issued by Morocco),in the course of which Abou Hafs expressed Al Qa,ida,s predisposition to help the GICM in the training of the Mujahidin,s and the leaders of the Moroccan group. ¶10. (S//NF) Abou Hafs had also given US $3,000 to Mohamed El Guerbouzi to help him financially. Younous Chekkouri, who participated in the combats alongside the Taliban after the American offensive, was arrested in December 2001 in the Tora Bora region in Afghanistan and transferred to the Guantanamo naval base. ¶11. (S//NF) Abdellatif Nasr, Moroccan, born on 04 March 1965 in Casablanca. Son of Mohamed Ben Lekbir Nasr and of Kaboura Bent Abderrahmane. Her known address is bloc n 70, n 26, Sidi Othmane, Casablanca. Abdellatif Nasr is the holder of passport n F209602 issued on 10 May 1990. He is considered as a former member of the &Jamaat Al Adl oua Al Ihssane8, in search of work, and went to Libya in August 1990 where he was filled with the &jihadi8 ideals by the Libyan national Abdelhakim Allibi, a recruiting agent for the &Libyan Islamic Fighting Group8 (GICL). ¶12. (S//NF) Planner of a failed attempt to go to Chechnya for Jihad, in 1996, Abdellatif Nasr entered Afghanistan with the help of the Libyan national Ahmed Nasrati. ¶13. (S//NF) After undergoing paramilitary training under the aegis of the leaders of the &Libyan Islamic Fighting Group8 (GICL) at the Abou Yahya camp, Abdellatif Nasr went to the Al Farouk camp directed by Al Qa,ida where he was initiated to the handling of weapons, guerilla techniques and topography. ¶14. (S//NF) Moreover, the transfer of these two Moroccan-Afghans to Morocco would allow the gathering of additional information on their case, notably the range of relationships among the leaders of Al Qa,ida and the other terrorist groups. Their transfer to Morocco is greatly desired by the Moroccan security services, to gather more information on their activism for terrorist groups. ¶15. (S//NF) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco takes this opportunity to express their deep respect to the embassy of the United State. Rabat, 20 September 2008. End Text. ¶16. (S//NF) Comment: Judging from Morocco's positive track record of pursuing criminal cases against GITMO detainees and the tone of the diplomatic note, Embassy Rabat believes that the GOM would prosecute these individuals to the full extent of Moroccan law if turned over to Moroccan authorities. Given the considerable amount of derogatory information provided on both individuals, the GOM appears to have the basis for criminal cases against both individuals. Embassy Rabat recommends the Department instruct Embassy Rabat to submit a formal request to the GOM, to accept transfer of the two detainees from U.S. to Moroccan custody, as has been the practice in the past. End Comment ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/rabat ***************************************** Riley