DETENTION OF DIYALA SUNNI ARAB PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000544 JUSTICE PASS TO JOHN EULER SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI SUBJECT: DETENTION OF DIYALA SUNNI ARAB PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL REF BAGHDAD 64 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The circumstances surrounding the arrest and subsequent five month detention of a high-ranking government official in Diyala Province, Dr. Hussein al-Zubaydi, raise questions as to whether it is politically motivated. A Sunni Arab provincial council member, Dr. Hussein was arrested in late August 2008 during a violent raid by an Iraqi Special Forces (ISF) Unit that reports directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq. While he has not been mistreated in custody, Dr. Hussein has not yet been tried and has apparently been denied access to his attorney. He believes the charges against him are political in nature. Various U.S. overtures have been made to gather information and urge the Iraqis to follow applicable law and afford fair treatment to Dr. Hussein. End Summary. The Official at the Center of the Controversy ¶2. (U) Dr. Hussein al-Zubaydi was the head of the security committee of the Diyala Provincial Council, and a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP),one of Iraq's largest Sunni political factions. Dr. Hussein, along with the Provincial Governor, was a strong supporter of the Diyala Sons of Iraq (SoI). The Raid and Arrest ¶3. (U) According to press accounts, on August 20, 2008, in a midnight raid, the Prime Minister's ISF Unit kicked down the doors of the Diyala provincial governmentheadquarters, killed the Governor's secretary, and then beat and arrested Dr. Hussein. After exiting the provincial compound with Dr. Hussein in tow, the soldiers engaged in a firefight with local police, resulting in several injuries. Criticism of the Arrest ¶4. (SBU) Dr. Hussein's arrest was widely criticized in media accounts as being politically motivated. "There is no evidence against him; we think this arrest is related to electoral politics," Ammar Wajih, an IIP leader, told the New York Times in January. In August, a Diyala Shia politician, Hadi Abdullah al-Tamimi, told the Washington Post: "What they did was a gross violation of the local government authority and a breach of all values and good conduct." Finally, in January, Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) was informed by an aide to Vice-President Hashimi that Dr. Hussein "is in poor health and being denied legal representation." �00A; ¶5. (SBU) U.S. personnel at the Diyala Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) worked cooperatively with Dr. Hussein, and one PRT member called him a "critical factor" in the Diyala SoI movement, adding that Dr. Hussein has been denied counsel and "due process." According to the Diyala PRT Team Leader, Dr.Hussein was also widely regarded as one of the IIP's top strategists for the January 31 provincial election, and his arrest may fit a pattern; 85 political activists or workers for the IIP were also arrested around the time period of Dr. Hussein's arrest. Investigation of Raid Never Takes Place ¶6. (SBU) In response to the wave of criticism of the midnight raid in Diyala, Prime Minister Maliki publicly ordered a committee to be formed under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) to investigate the incident. In January - four months after the Prime Minister's order to investigate - the Embassy liaison to the MOI was tasked to determine the status of the investigation. After checking with the highest levels of the MOI, the liaison reported back that he could find no evidence that an investigation ever occurred, and indeed he could find no evidence that a committee was ever formed. Investigation of Dr. Hussein Continues Q ¶7. (SBU) Dr. Hussein's case is being investigated by the Karkh Central Criminal Court - Iraq. On December 31, 2008, Embassy representatives from the Justice Attache's Office met with Judge Fayek Zidan, the Chief Investigative Judge of that court. Judge Fayek confirmed that the case is currently pending before his court and is in the investigative stage. Specifically, the case is BAGHDAD 00000544 002 OF 003 assigned to Investigative Judge Dhia al-Kinani, and Dr. Hussein is being held "on a terrorism charge." Judge Fayek said that "people have complained against Dr. Hussein" and added that the evidence collected in the investigation, includes, generally: statements by complainants/witnesses and "informants/secret witnesses." ¶8. (SBU) Judge Fayek added that Dr. Hussein was being represented by three defense lawyers. The two defense lawyers are Abd al Kader al-Qavsy and Shuket al-Samarai. Judge Fayek said that these defense lawyers brought in defense witnesses to give statements to Investigative Judge Dhia. The Embassy representatives told Judge Fayek that the United States wanted to see a fair and legal determination based upon the evidence in the case. Judge Fayek agreed and said that it should be handled the way "a physician diagnoses a patient". No Torture but No Trial or Visitation with Counsel ¶9. (SBU) After meeting with Judge Fayek, Justice Attache personnel sought to determine where Dr. Hussein was being detained and assess the conditions of detention. They received information that the detainee was held at a detention facility in the International Zone (IZ detention facility) known to hold prisoners from the ISF Unit that reports directly to the Prime Minister . Upon visiting the facility they were told that Dr. Hussein was not there. ¶10. (SBU) After the unsuccessful attempt to see Dr. Hussein, Justice Attache personnel partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). They met with U.S. Special Forces personnel who confirmed that Dr. Hussein was, in fact, at the IZ detention facility, and identified a US Military contractor who monitored the condition of detainees. The contractor agreed to attempt to see Dr. Hussein. ¶11. (SBU) On January 29, the contractor visited Dr. Hussein at the IZ detention facility. According to the contractor, Dr. Hussein said that around midnight on August 20, 2008 he was arrested by the Prime Minister's ISF Unit at his office at the Diyala Provincial Council. Dr. Hussein said he was held for a week in Diyala, and then transferred to the IZ detention facility on August 26, 2008. Dr. Hussein confirmed the information from Judge Fayek that Investigative Judge Dhia was assigned to his case. Dr. Hussein added that he saw the Judge one week after coming to the IZ detention facility and saw him again two additional times after that, the last time being two months ago. Dr. Hussein said he has never been to the Karkh Central Criminal Court. ¶12. (SBU) Dr. Hussein also said that an advisor to the Prime Minister's Counterterrorism Bureau (CTB) threatened him and told a soldier to torture him to get a confession, but the soldier never followed that directive and Dr. Hussein has never been mistreated while in custody. Dr. Hussein said he was told that there was an arrest warrant for him for being a member of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), but added that these charges are false, contending that he worked for the Coalition in Diyala against AQI. Dr. Hussein believes the charges are political in nature, as a Sunni Arab (reftel). (NOTE: Many Sunni Arabs in Diyala believe that Dr. Hussein's and other Sunni Arabs' arrests were part of the central Government of Iraq's "Glad Tidings of Benevolence" or "Benevolent Diyala" security operation in the late summer and fall of last year. They further believe that the operation was directed specifically at Sunni Arab leaders in the province. END NOTE) Dr. Hussein confirmed the information from Judge Fayek that Shuket al-Samarai is his lawyer, Qinformation from Judge Fayek that Shuket al-Samarai is his lawyer, and said that he "has no opportunity to meet with him." Joint Embassy MNF-I Letter to Prime Minister ¶13. (SBU) On February 1, the Ambassador and MNF-I Commanding General sent a joint letter to the Prime Minister expressing concern about Dr. Hussein's condition "and the allegations regarding the denial of his right to counsel." Outreach by PRT to Dr. Hussein Ally ¶14. (SBU) On February 10, a U.S. liaison for the Diyala PRT met with Hisham Ali Khalaf, a friend and political ally of Dr. Hussein. Hashim was in close contact with Dr. Hussein's legal team, including lead attorney Shuket al-Samarai. Hisham stated that al-Samari was the only attorney who has had any contact with Dr. Hussein, and Hisham "was only aware of one extremely brief meeting between Dr. Hussein and his lawyer and that was many months ago." ¶15. (SBU) In his February 10 conversation with the Diyala liaison, Hisham "stated in unequivocal terms that this was a politically motivated arrest" that "was meant to sideline him from participating in the most recent provincial elections." Hisham further complained BAGHDAD 00000544 003 OF 003 that Dr. Hussein has been denied his rights under Iraqi law to access to counsel and timelines for setting hearings. (NOTE: Article 19(fourth) of the Iraqi Constitution provides that "The right to a defense shall be sacred and guaranteed in all phases of investigation and trial." END NOTE) ¶16. (SBU) Embassy Baghdad will continue to follow Dr. Hussein's case and work to obtain due process under Iraqi law for him. BUTENIS 1