MURAD CUSTODY CASE: CONSUL GENERAL PRESENTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000324

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR CA/OCS/ACS/NESA, CA/OCS/CI
LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR WALLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2019
TAGS: CASC KOCI KJUS PREL SY MURAD MAYA AND OMAR
SUBJECT: MURAD CUSTODY CASE: CONSUL GENERAL PRESENTS
BACKGROUND TO SYRIAN DIRECTOR OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS

REF: DAMASCUS 00245

Classified By: CDA Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Consul General met with the Syrian
Director of Consular Affairs Haitham Maashfej on May 5, in
order to provide him with additional information about the
Murad child custody case. Director Maashfej was given a copy
of the diplomatic note and supporting background information.
The note reiterated the USG's request for assistance from the
SARG on locating the Murad children and reuniting them with
their mother. The Consul General also reminded Maashfej that
Acting Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Feltman had raised the
case with Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallim in the past and
would probably do so again on May 7, adding he hoped Maashfej
would brief the FM on the meeting so that the FM would be
made aware of the case. Maashfej received the information
and promised he would share it with the relevant officials
and that he would provide us with an update if/when they
learned something about the case. END SUMMARY.

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Following Feltman's Initiative
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2. (SBU) The Consul General met with Director of Consular
Affairs Haitham Maashfej on May 5, in a follow-up to a March
26 meeting between Maashfej,Charge d'Affaires, the Consul
General (ref A). Post had sought the March 26 meeting to
follow up on A A/S Feltman's query to FM Muallim on March 7.
Muallim had told Feltman he was unfamiliar with the Murad
case before and asked for more information. The Embassy took
Muallim's request as an opportunity to meet with Maashfej and
provide documents showing the history of our appeals to the
SARG for assistance.

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The Dipnote and Supporting Documents
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3. (SBU) The Consul General presented Maashfej with a copy of
a diplomatic note that requested SARG aid in the case and
additional supporting documents describing the history of the
Murad case. The supporting documents and the diplomatic
note, the Consul General explained, detailed USG efforts on
behalf of the Murad family dating back to 2001 and included
(1) a letter from 2007 signed by 16 Senators, including
then-Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden, asking President
Asad to assist in locating the Murad children and returning
them to their mother; (2) a chronology of letters sent to the
offices of the President and the Foreign Minister requesting
SARG action on the case; (3) information on rulings by
Lebanese and U.S. courts, including a judgment rendered under
Sunni Sharia law, that granted Ms. Murad full custody of the
two children; (4) the last known information on the
children's U.S. and Lebanese passports; and (5) the GOL
statement that the two children and their father had crossed
from Lebanon into Syria in November 2001.

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Media Concerns
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4. (C) After reviewing the contents of the diplomatic note
and supporting documents, the Consul General reiterated the
USG's appeal to the SARG for support in returning the two
children to their mother. Ms. Murad, the Consul General
noted, had not gone to the U.S. press recently on this issue.
Were she to do so in the future, he said, the case could
attract a lot of attention in the press, adding that "she
could say the USG had asked the Syrians for help in locating
the children for a long time. If something like that
happened, I don't see how it would help the situation as we
try to improve bilateral relations." The Consul General
reminded Maashfej of their previous conversation with the
Charge in which they had said getting the Murad case "off the
table" would be viewed positively by the USG.

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Maashfej Noncommittal
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5. (SBU) Maashfej, for his part, had little to say during the

meeting. Following the explanation of the diplomatic note,
he asked, "What was the response from officials in the past
when you brought this up? I'm not familiar with the case."
The Consul General responded, "On some occasions, the
government officials said 'thank you' for the information and
then never replied to us; other times they asked for more
information, but no action resulted. President Asad had said
he would look into it and 'assist where he could,' but we are
unaware of any action on his part."


6. (C) Maashfej assured us he would be certain to send the
information to those authorities who might help us and that
he would respond to us at some point in the future. The
Consul General asked Maashfej to brief the FM prior to the
FM's May 7 meeting with Feltman. He also told Maashfej that
it was certain the U.S. would pursue the case until it was
resolved. The problem, Maashfej replied, was that the
children were Lebanese citizens. "If they were Syrian, we
could locate them easily, but this (their Lebanese
citizenship) will make it difficult." The Consul General
quickly reminded Maashfej that the children were U.S.
citizens as well and that citizenship was the most important
in our view.


7. (C) COMMENT: Despite Muallim's apparent lack of
recollection, the Embassy has raised the issue with him in
the past. The SARG's lack of response on this case has been
longstanding and we can only speculate as to their reasons.
END COMMENT.
CONNELLY