VISIT TO DETAINED SUNNI TRIBAL FIGURE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002068 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/02/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KISL IZ SUBJECT: VISIT TO DETAINED SUNNI TRIBAL FIGURE REF: A. BAGHDAD 1294 ¶B. BAGHDAD 1599 Classified By: Deputy Political Counselor Eric Carlson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Emboffs conducted a prison visit on July 8 to see Sheikh Mutlab al-Massari, a close Embassy and U.S. military contact, prominent West Baghdad tribal leader and Sons of Iraq (SOI) affiliate. Mutlab was detained by the Iraqi Army on May 12, suspected of association with the "New Ba'th Party." He is being held under the watch of the 56th Brigade of the 6th Iraqi Army Division, which operates in part outside the normal Ministry of Defense chain of command, reporting to the Office of the Commander in Chief. Mutlab had lost about 20 pounds, though apparently in fair physical condition overall; he has not been allowed family visitation. Mutlab told poloff he was kept in a relatively small cell with about 16 others, but had access to medical care. Asked by poloff if he had been tortured, he said he had been subject to "unbelievable mistreatment." Despite this, it did not seem that he was undergoing or in immediate fear of torture. Mutlab's case exemplifies the gulf of distrust between the government and Sunni leaders, as well as GOI fear (or paranoia) about a potential resurgence of Ba'thism. End summary. -------------- The Case Against the Sheikh -------------- ¶2. (C) Poloffs, Embassy Justice Attache, and MNF-I Political Advisor conducted a visit on July 8 to detainee Sheikh Mutlab Ali Abbas Al-Massari, leader of the Patriotic Confederation of Iraqi Tribes and prominent community leader and affiliate of the Sons of Iraq program in West Baghdad. Mutlab was arrested on July 8 on suspicion of association with elements of the "New Ba'th Party" (reftels). The visit took place at the Office of the Commander in Chief (OCINC),also the headquarters of the Iraqi Army's 56th Brigade, aka "the Baghdad Brigade," an operation under the control of the Prime Minister and which is assailed by regime critics as PM Maliki's private political security force. ¶3. (C) Unlike our June 9 encounter, prison authorities were nonchalant about our visit. Rather than a group of taciturn and anonymous military officers (ref B),we were received by two apparently sympathetic young judicial investigators. The investigators told us that the case revolved, in part, around Mutlab's name and address being found in records seized by police at a house in the North Baghdad neighborhood of Kathimiya in response to a report that the residence was an office for the "New Ba'th Party." The investigators thought (as Mutlab's family asserts) that this house was actually used as a branch office for Ayad Allawi's Al-Wifaq (accord) movement. They said they are trying to get Allawi's group to conclusively confirm this. (The family subsequently alleged that Al-Wifaq officials have been dragging their feet, citing legal technicalities and admitting that they fear arrest if they respond to the court summons. The family also claimed that "dozens" of others have been arrested because their names were found at the Kathimiya house.) -------------- The Detainee -------------- ¶4. (C) Previously a jovial, avuncular figure, Mutlab appeared haggard, had not shaved and was wearing a slightly dirty white thobe; he had obviously not bathed recently. When he first entered the trailer, Mutlab was emotional and agitated, vigorously protesting his innocence. He gradually relaxed and settled into conversation. With permission from the two investigators, we allowed Mutlab to use an Embassy phone to call his family. Mutlab told us he has been allowed only one Qcall his family. Mutlab told us he has been allowed only one other such call. -------------- Legal Representation -------------- ¶5. (C) Mutlab told us he had signed a power of attorney appointing his old friend Abdel Qadir al-Nasseri as his lawyer. Asked if it was possible to allow Mutlab's lawyer to visit him, the investigators responded that "this is a very difficult matter" and remarked that it was up to General Farouq Araji, Director of OCINC, to approve such visits. Theoretically there was no prohibition, they added, but in practice the intensive security measures at the OCINC facility make lawyers' visits very hard. (Note: Attorney visits at this facility have been permitted in the past, but with great difficulty. End note.) BAGHDAD 00002068 002 OF 002 -------------- Treatment -------------- ¶6. (C) Poloff was able to have a short, semi-private conversation with Mutlab as the other emboffs spoke with the investigators. He told poloff he was in a rather small cell with 16 others (two had been transferred out the day before); although suffering from kidney/urinary pain, he was seeing a doctor twice daily and had been provided medicine. Mutlab voiced no complaints about his food, but was much thinner than when a free man. Asked by poloff if he had been hit or tortured, he said in a very low voice "I will tell you later," and poked poloff in the leg. When poloff followed up with the question "does that mean you've been tortured?," he whispered "unbelievable mistreatment." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) While we cannot exclude the possibility that Mutlab has been tortured since his arrest, his body language and demeanor suggested he was probably not undergoing or in immediate fear of torture. The good news from this visit is that we were able to obtain access to Mutlab, that he seemed to feel he could speak fairly freely, and that the investigators appeared versed in the legal process and interested in following it through. This type of access for a foreign embassy would have been unthinkable in the Saddam regime. The bad news, on the other hand, is that Mutlab continues to be held at a hard-to-access detention facility, has not been allowed to see his family, and has alleged mistreatment. Moreover, while the PM recently issued an order directing the transfer of all prisoners in Ministry of Defense Custody to the care of the Ministry of Justice, it is uncertain whether the 56th Brigade, given its status, will be subject to this order. End comment. FORD