GOC RELEASES GUANTANAMO RETURNEE AL-QARANI

C O N F I D E N T I A L NDJAMENA 000244 STATE FOR S/CG, AF, AF/C E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2014 TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER ASEC CD SUBJECT: GOC RELEASES GUANTANAMO RETURNEE AL-QARANI REF: A. NDJAMENA 231 ¶B. NDJAMENA 225 Classified By: Charge d'affaires Sue Bremner, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) In the wake of the GoC's June 18 release of former Guantanamo detainee Yousef al-Qarani (aka Mohamed el-Gharani),Charge d'affaires spoke briefly June 19 with Chadian Ambassador to the U.S. Mahamoud Adam Bechir, who had been part of the group of GoC individuals to receive al-Qarani from U.S. custody June 11, and who remains in N'Djamena handling the case. Bechir stressed that although the GoC wished to observe al-Qarani to determine how he would handle himself and who his associates would be, it did not believe grounds existed to keep him in custody or to bring charges against him. ¶2. (C) Bechir said that he had spent most of the previous week in consultations with al-Qarani's lawyers. Asked whether the ICRC had been involved, Bechir said that there had been no need for this, as the GoC had determined early on that it did not wish to keep al-Qarani in custody for more than a minimal period of time. In any event, he had been well-treated, said Bechir, He wished to travel outside Chad, but whether he would be entitled to a passport remained to be seen, as questions on his identity had yet to be resolved. ¶3. (SBU) Embassy has been contacted by a number of international journalists about the case; the BBC has spoken with al-Qarani and plans to conduct an interview with him, which may run over the weekend. We have made clear to journalists that we have no information to provide about the case except that al-Qarani was handed over to Chadian officials June 11. BREMNER