QATAR'S ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORTS ON CONTACTS WITH

S E C R E T DOHA 000290 NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM QA IR SUBJECT: QATAR'S ATTORNEY GENERAL REPORTS ON CONTACTS WITH IRAN ON LEVINSON Classified By: Ambassador Joseph E. LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b, d). (S) KEY POINTS -- In a meeting with Ambassador on April 27, the Qatari Attorney General (QAG) summarized his attempts to gain information on the status of missing American citizen Robert Alan Levinson during recent meetings in Tehran, Iran with the Iranian Attorney General and Head of the Judicial Authority. -- The Attorney General indicated that, although he obtained no information, the channel of communication on that matter was still open. His Iranian counterparts had merely promised to look into the matter. They conveyed little sense of how much they knew about, or were aware of, the issue. -- (U) On a separate matter, Dr. Al-Marri pressed for senior U.S. representation at the Global Forum on Anti-Corruption, hosted by Qatar November 7-8, 2009. Dr. Al-Marri said he would like to invite Secretary Clinton and AG Holder to attend, and he was prepared to deliver personal invitations during his proposed visit to Washington in May. (S) COMMENTS -- In an effort to assist the U.S. in the case of missing American citizen Robert Levinson, QAG offered to discuss the matter with his Iranian counterparts during the Conference on Public Prosecution in the Islamic World, held in Teheran, Iran April 21-22, 2009. Embassy Doha coordinated with the Department and FBI in preparing suitable background information for QAG prior to his meetings. -- QAG has demonstrated his willingness to work with the U.S. in a number of counterterrorism and other law enforcement issues since 2006. Of note, and at the risk of political fallout from other Ministers within the GOQ, he obtained Bahrain's criminal file on Al-Qaeda facilitator Khalifa Turki Al-Subaiy after his January 2008 conviction in absentia there on terrorism charges, and then ordered his arrest and subsequent confinement in Qatar in order to serve the six month sentence handed down by the Bahraini court. END KEY POINTS AND COMMENTS. ¶1. (S) On April 27, 2009, Ambassador and Legat met with QAG Dr. Ali Al-Marri regarding the Ambassador's upcoming meeting in Washington, DC with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. Ambassador also inquired as to the results of Dr. Al-Marri's efforts to obtain information on the status of missing American citizen Robert Levinson from his Iranian counterparts during recent meetings in Teheran, Iran. ¶2. (S/NF) Dr. Al-Marri told Ambassador he did in fact bring the Levinson matter up during separate meetings with Iranian Attorney General Qorban Ali Duri Najaf Abadi and the Head of Iran's Judicial Authority, Ayatollah Sayyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi in Teheran on April 21-22. Dr. Al-Marri characterized the Iranian Government in general as difficult to deal with politically, with Abadi, who was the former Minister of Interior, and Shahroudi being among the hardliners. Dr. Al-Marri likened his meetings with Abadi and Shahroudi as "shopping at a bazaar, where nothing is for free." While unable to learn anything about Levinson from Abadi or Shahroudi while in Teheran, Dr. Al-Marri indicated the line of communication in that matter was still open, and said he hoped to receive something from them in the near future. Dr. Al-Marri was not optimistic as to Levinson's fate, and opined that he was either incarcerated in Iran or dead. If incarcerated, Dr. Al-Marri said that Iran would use him to achieve some political end. Dr. Al-Marri told Ambassador that his first priority in this matter was to help the Levinson family through a difficult situation. He also expressed his willingness to assist the U.S. in opening channels of communication with other countries when he can. ¶3. (S/NF) Ambassador told Dr. Al-Marri that there was a notable increase in counterterrorism cooperation between State Security, his office and the USG in the last several weeks, and hoped that it would continue. Dr. Al-Marri agreed that cooperation was moving in the right direction, and noted that Ambassador's recent meeting with State Security Director Mohamed Al-Misnad was well received. ¶4. (C) Ambassador told Dr. Al-Marri that he was going to Washington for consultations in early May, and had a scheduled appointment with AG Holder. Ambassador said that he would inform AG Holder about how Dr. Al-Marri has taken important steps to improve counterterrorism cooperation between the U.S. and Qatar. ¶5. (C) Ambassador also told Dr. Al-Marri that he would strongly support a meeting in Washington between AG Holder and Dr. Al-Marri in May. Ambassador cited both the pending Judicial Assistance MOU between DOJ and QAG and bilateral cooperation on counterterrorism as important topics to discuss. Ambassador stated, and Dr. Al-Marri agreed, that the U.S. and Qatar might have different views on several important issues, but that they share a common interest when it comes to addressing the threat from Al-Qaeda, which is an area where both countries can and should expand cooperation. Dr. Marri agreed. ¶6. (U) On a separate matter, Dr. Al-Marri told Ambassador that it was very important that the United States be represented by a senior official at the Global Forum on Anti-Corruption, hosted by Qatar November 7-8, 2009. Dr. Al-Marri said he would like to invite Secretary Clinton and/or AG Holder to attend, and was prepared to deliver personal invitations during his proposed meetings in Washington in May. LeBaron