RUMORS CIRCULATE ABOUT LAWSUIT AGAINST JORDAN'S

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001637

SIPDIS
NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KINR JO
SUBJECT: RUMORS CIRCULATE ABOUT LAWSUIT AGAINST JORDAN'S
FORMER INTELLIGENCE CHIEF

REF: AMMAN 1423

Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft
for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (S/NF) Summary: A London-based website often used to
circulate rumors and gossip in the Arab world reported on
July 13 that former General Intelligence Directorate (GID)
chief Mohammed Dahabi was or will be questioned in connection
with a lawsuit filed by a former MP, Ahmed Oweid Al-Abaddi.
That lawsuit is likely being pursued as revenge by Abbadi, an
avid conspiracy theorist who was jailed for slander when
Dahabi was the head of GID. Contacts dismissed the news as
character assassination by Dahabi's political enemies. End
Summary.

Investigation of the Former GID Chief
--------------


2. (S/NF) Ilaf.com, a Saudi owned, London-based site known
to circulate rumors and other unofficial disclosures from the
Arab world, published a story on July 13 that former General
Intelligence Director Mohammed Dahabi (brother to current
Prime Minister Nader Dahabi) has been or will be questioned
by intelligence officials as part of an investigation into
charges of divulging state secrets. While there is no
evidence to suggest that Dahabi was or will be questioned, he
is named in a complaint brought by a former MP that is
currently being investigated by the courts. The public
prosecutor has reportedly dismissed the complaint against
Dahabi due to lack of evidence, yet the Ilaf article notes
that the internal investigative unit within GID is now
required to look into the case.

Dahabi's Accuser
--------------


3. (S/NF) The story is connected to public charges leveled
against Dahabi by Ahmed Oweid Al-Abbadi, a former MP who was
released from prison earlier this year after serving a two
year sentence for slander and heading an illegal political
party. Abbadi sued Mohammed Dahabi after the GID chief was
forced out, probably with the intention of seeking revenge
for his own imprisonment. Abbadi continues to believe that
the case against him was politically motivated and engineered
by Dahabi himself.


4. (SBU) Abbadi has recurring legal problems of his own.
After he was released from jail, Abbadi was charged with
slander for allegedly suggesting on his website that former
Interior Minister Eid Al-Fayez gave Queen Rania USD 350 and a
plot of land for her birthday. If convicted, he could be
sent back to jail for one year. Abbadi denies the charges,
claiming that hackers infiltrated his website and placed the
story there on purpose to defame him. The case is still
under deliberation in the Jordanian courts.

Reaction
--------------


5. (C) Influential Al-Ghad columnist Abu Rumman, a close
contact of Mohammed Dahabi's, discounted the importance of
Abbadi's charges and the rumor about the former GID chief
being questioned. As for the Ilaf article, Abu Rumman
attempted to draw a connection between the site and former
Royal Court Chief (and political rival to Mohammed Dahabi)
Bassem Awadallah. According to Abu Rumman, 'Amir Al-Hantuli,
the journalist who wrote the article, is a close confidant of
Awadallah's and has been used in the past to spread malicious
rumors against Mohammed Dahabi. Other contacts agreed with
Abu Rumman that Abbadi's legal crusade against Dahabi would
eventually come to nothing, either because his brother the
Prime Minister would protect him or because the charges seem
to be baseless in fact.


6. (SBU) Ammonnews, a Jordanian website known for unsourced
rumors, reported on July 20 that PM Dahabi called the
regional manager of Al-Arabiya when the story about his
brother appeared as a "flash" on the station's news crawl.
The PM reportedly asked Al-Arabiya to remove the story from
its crawl as it was "unworthy."

Comment
--------------


7. (S/NF) Regardless of the truth behind the Ilaf article,
its appearance is hardly surprising. Mohammed Dahabi remains
a controversial figure in Jordanian politics. As with any
Jordanian politician who has yielded power and influence,
Dahabi faces an ongoing stream of rumors which attempt to
undercut or bolster his political profile. Innuendo is often

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used in obscure ways to influence government appointments in
Jordan. Unsourced allegations of corruption, rumors of a
pending divorce, or even hints of a lucrative private sector
job are frequently used by Jordanian politicians and media
figures to cast an ongoing shadow over the careers of current
and former officials.
Beecroft