IJU/"SAUERLAND CELL" TERRORISM TRIAL OPENS IN DUESSELDORF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSSELDORF 000010 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER KISL PGOV KCRM KZ PK UZ GM SUBJECT: IJU/"SAUERLAND CELL" TERRORISM TRIAL OPENS IN DUESSELDORF DUSSELDORF 00000010 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The trial of the "Sauerland Cell" charged with membership in the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) and planning terrorist attacks in Germany against American and other targets began on April 22 amidst strict security and enormous media attention at the High Security Court in Duesseldorf. Arrested in September 2007 after the largest undercover operation in Germany since that against the Red Army Faction (RAF) in the 1970s, the defendants are a part of the first trial against "home grown" Islamic terrorists in the country's history. The Prosecution said the cell wanted to kill as many Americans as possible because they saw Americans as the main enemy of Islam and that members of the cell were planning a series of attacks emulating 9/11. A senior official told us she expects the trial to last two years, while some say it could take as long as three. The Prosecution expects the Defense to challenge the admissibility of evidence gathered in interrogation by foreign authorities (alleged torture) and electronic surveillance of private areas. A senior court source told us this case will navigate major new legal waters and establish important precedents for terrorism cases. Charges carry a maximum 15-year sentence. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Almost 20 months after their arrest in a remote part of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW),the four members of the so-called "Sauerland Cell" faced the opening of their trial on April 22 in the high security courtroom of the Sixth Criminal Division of Duesseldorf Higher Regional Court, which has gained an outstanding reputation for handling high profile terrorism cases in recent years. Famed Judge Ottmar Breidling (62),who has handled many such trials, is presiding over this case, the most important and, as he has told us, most likely the last in his distinguished career (he must retire at age 65). A senior official told us she expects the trial to last two years, while some say it could take as long as three. ¶3. (U) The Prosecution charged the four defendants, Fritz Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, both German converts to Islam, and Adem Yilmaz and Attila Selek, both of whom grew up on Germany, with membership in a domestic terrorist cell and the IJU, based in Waziristan, Pakistan. The Prosecution alleged that Gelowicz, Schneider, and Yilmaz traveled to the Middle East and Central Asia in 2006 to join the IJU and to obtain training at terrorist camps. After a massive undercover operation, German authorities arrested them in September 2007 while they were preparing to build explosives to begin a campaign of terror in Germany. The fourth defendant, Selek was living in Turkey at the time, was arrested there, and later extradited because he is a German citizen. Emulating 9/11 ¶4. (U) In his opening presentation, the Prosecution stated that the main targets were U.S. citizens and military installations, including Ramstein AFB, but that the group had also considered other targets in Cologne, Duesseldorf, the Ruhr region, Munich and elsewhere. The Prosecution said cell members wanted to kill as many Americans as possible because they saw the U.S. as the main enemy of Islam and because of U.S. military actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Moreover, members of the cell had commented in recorded conversations that they wanted to carry out a series of attacks emulating 9/11. Federal authorities have said that the explosives would have created much more damage than the Madrid and London attacks. Thorny Issues ¶5. (SBU) Prosecutors indicated that they will attempt to prove that the defendants were IJU members and had been trained at IJU terrorist camps. Media accounts raise doubts about the evidence underpinning this connection, in part because of allegations that it may have been gathered from a witness who may have been tortured in Uzbekistan. A Prosecuting Attorney refuted that allegation, however, maintaining that there was no evidence of torture and that they have seen videos of witnesses providing evidence in the presence of German authorities. Speaking to the DUSSELDORF 00000010 002.2 OF 002 media after the opening session, the attorney for Gelowicz claimed that his client had heard of the IJU for the first time in May 2007, several months before his arrest. Gelowicz had wanted to further an international "jihad," but was not a member of the IJU, he continued, and had planned no terrorist attacks in Germany. ¶6. (SBU) A senior judge told us the other difficult issue concerns surveillance, as the Defense is expected to challenge as much of the evidence obtained electronically as possible, on the grounds that it may not have been obtained legally and therefore may be inadmissible. On the first day, the Defense began to challenge evidence obtained from U.S. sources, on the grounds that it violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. ¶7. (U) The Prosecution charged Gelowicz with leading the cell and planning the bombing campaign. If convicted of membership in an international terrorist organization, the Defendants could face up to 10 years in prison. They could face a longer sentence of up to 15 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. Separately Schneider faces a possible life sentence because he is accused of attempted murder of a police officer during the cell's arrest. Comment ¶8. (SBU) Our court sources are clearly geared up for a long and complex trial, but have expressed guarded confidence that they will be able to obtain a conviction. They have gone to extraordinary lengths to prepare this case, in terms of technology, research, evidence (219 witnesses),and personnel (two attorneys per defendant to reduce the likelihood of delays). Aside from obtaining convictions, we are impressed by the court's attempts to navigate new legal waters and to establish important precedents for terrorism cases in the future, a goal Breidling feels passionately about. The Defendants' behavior in the courtroom presages an interesting trial, with Schneider removing his cap when the judges entered the room, while Yilmaz refused until admonished to do so and continued his protest by refusing to stand at appropriate times and by laughing openly and smiling while charges were being read. The other three defendants sat expressionless and motionless. ¶9. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. BOYSE