GUANTANAMO: FORMER DETAINEE ALLEGEDLY ENCOURAGED

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000308 DEPT FOR S/WCI, DS/IP/NEA, S/CT, DS/ICI/CI, NEA/EX AND NEA/MAG E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2029 TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL MOPS PTER PHUM KAWK KISL AG SUBJECT: GUANTANAMO: FORMER DETAINEE ALLEGEDLY ENCOURAGED TO ATTACK U.S. EMBASSY IN ALGIERS Classified By: DCM Thomas F. Daughton; reason 1.4 (g). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: A letter received by the Embassy on March 25 accuses the spouse of former Algerian Guantanamo detainee Sofiane Abar Houari of encouraging her husband to attack the U.S. Embassy in Algiers. The letter, written in mediocre French, purports to be from a concerned citizen presumably living near Houari in Oran. It states that the spouse, a Chechen national married to Houari, has been encouraging her husband to exact revenge against the American Embassy in Algiers for what the Americans did to him in confinement. The letters does not specify a method or timetable for an attack. RSO has coordinated with local law enforcement, which has confirmed that Houari is in Oran and under surveillance. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) The March 22 letter, addressed simply to the U.S. Ambassador in Algiers, was received by the Embassy on March ¶25. It purports to have been written by a concerned Oran citizen who appears to have access to specific information about Houari. The letter includes no return address. Its theme is the encouragement being given to Houari by his Chechen wife to exact revenge against the American Embassy in Algiers for what the Americans did to him in prison. ¶3. (C) The letter provides only the surname of the former Guantanamo detainee, whom the author describes as "a terrorist man." It also includes, however, a variety of specific information about Houari, noting that he is 38 years old, was born in 1970 in Oran, and lives on the 4th floor of a building at 3 avenue Hammou Mokhtar Saint-Eugene. The information provided corresponds to the date of birth and age of former Guantanamo detainee Sofiane Abar Houari (or Huwari),ISN 1016, who was born on April 20, 1970 in Oran. Sofiane Houari was returned to Algeria in November 2008. He is married to a Chechen national. ¶4. (SBU) The letter claims that Houari and his wife, who is said currently to be in Chechnya, have regular contact via telephone and the internet. It states that the wife is using their daughter as a means to reinforce to the father the injustice that the Americans inflicted on him. Information about Houari has previously appeared in the New York Times, which published unclassified transcripts of the tribunal proceedings undergone by Houari at Guantanamo. The transcript includes descriptions of Houari's alleged association with terrorist groups and persons, as well as his visits to Pakistan, Chechnya and Georgia. ¶5. (C) RSO met with local law enforcement officials on March 25 and informed them of the letter and its content. They agreed to cooperate fully. The police stated that, as a matter of practice, individuals who have been determined to maintain terrorist associations are regularly monitored in Algeria. According to the postmark, the letter was sent from Oran on March 23. A scanned copy of the letter has been provided to DS HQ. RSO also notified and provided scanned copies of the letter to Legatt and other agencies at post for follow-up. RSO was able to obtain an old photo of Houari and has provided color copies to all RSO staff. On March 26, the police confirmed that Houari had been located in the city of Oran and that he is currently under surveillance. Police further stated that Houari has been observed spending time in a local Internet cafe (NFI). ¶6. (SBU) Embassy's informal translation of the letter follows. BEGIN INFORMAL TRANSLATION Oran, 22.02.2009 From: A citizen Address: Oran Subject: Warning of a danger from a woman from Chechnya Mr. Ambassador of the American Embassy in Algiers, Sir, pay attention to a Chechen woman married to a terrorist man whose name is Houari, aged 38 years, who was born in 1970 (and) resides at 3 Avenue Hammou Mokhtar Saint-Eugene, Oran on the fourth floor. This man was in prison at Guantanamo but is now free. This man is in contact via telephone and Internet in his home with his wife from the country of Chechnya. This woman is filling her Algerian husband's brain with ideas of revenge and terrorism directed against the American embassy, in an effort to make him understand that the Americans caused him to lose those years of his life in prison and that the Americans are non-believers, and they must not remain on Algerian territory, and the people of Oran should fight the American Embassy. So, Mr. Ambassador, the phone and internet should be cut off at the house so that there will be no more contact between Chechens and Algerians - the man and the woman. Also, you should separate the woman from the man to allow the country of Algeria to live in peace. This woman is getting her husband at his weak point, a little girl who was born in Chechnya. Using this point of weakness the woman wants to come to Oran, Algeria, and she is going to change the morale of her husband and she is making him angry at the American Embassy and he is going to be against you, and he will fight you Americans with help. His friends here will be impressed and this man is impressed by the Chechen woman. I am trying to warn in order to prevent terrorism from returning to Algeria because of a woman from Chechnya. Accept my request, sir, and my salutations. Signature (sic) An Oranais END INFORMAL TRANSLATION. ¶7. (U) POCs for this report are Regional Security Officer Kevin Whitson and Deputy Regional Security Officer Miguel A. Eversley. PEARCE