RED CROSS INQUIRES ABOUT GUANTANAMO RETURNEE

S E C R E T NDJAMENA 000231 STATE FOR AF, AF/C E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2015 TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER ASEC CD SUBJECT: RED CROSS INQUIRES ABOUT GUANTANAMO RETURNEE REF: A. NDJAMENA 225 ¶B. STATE 32986 Classified By: Charge d'affaires Sue Bremner, for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) ¶1. (SBU) This is a guidance request. Please see para 5 below. ¶2. (S) International Red Cross (ICRC) Director Catherine Deman met with Charge d'affaires, A/DCM and Refcoord June 15 to inquire about the terms of the handover (reported Ref A) of former Guantanamo detainee Yousef al-Qarani (aka Mohamed el-Gharani) to the GoC June 11. Charge reviewed Embassy's involvement as an observer to the transfer to custody of GoC officials including N'Djamena's Ambassador to the U.S. Charge also briefly summarized (bearing in mind classification restrictions) selected portions of our initial demarche to the GoC contained in Ref B, notably the para wherein the USG called on the GoC to treat al-Qarani in a humane manner consistent with international standards and Chad's own laws. ¶3. (S) Deman, who has been involved with prison visits to Guantanamo detainees at the base, and who has visited with GWOT-related detainees in Iraq, asked whether the U.S. intended for the ICRC to serve as an intermediary to guarantee the rights of al-Qarani while in Chadian custody. She pointed out that the ICRC had been asked to play this role in some nations where Guantanamo detainees had recently been handed over. She noted that al-Qarani was currently being held in the Chadian Presidential Palace. The ICRC had seen him there, as had an uncle whom the ICRC had located prior to al-Qarani's arrival in Chad. Deman mentioned that the ICRC had been unable to ascertain from its contacts with the GoC what the nation's long-term intentions were with respect to al-Qarani's possible continued local detention, release under surveillance, or release. ¶4. (S) Deman asked whether the U.S. would object to al-Qarani's being permitted to travel to a third country, particularly since his closest relatives seemed to reside in Saudi Arabia, and if so, on what grounds we would seek to have him remain in Chad. ¶5. (S) Guidance Request: Please advise what Embassy is in a position to say to the ICRC about al-Qarani, especially with respect to a possible role for the organization as a formal "third party" to the case for the purposes of verifying humane treatment, and also with respect to possible onward travel. BREMNER