FORMER GUANTANAMO DETAINEE AL-QARANI SEEKS CHADIAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L NDJAMENA 000484 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/C STATE ALSO FOR DS/ITA/AF STATE ALSO FOR DS/RD/AF STATE ALSO FOR S/CT STATE ALSO FOR INR CIA FOR DDI/OEA SECDEF FOR USDP/ISA/AFR/INR JCS FOR J2 JCS ALSO FOR J5 RABAT FOR LEGATT E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/15 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER ASEC CD SUBJECT: FORMER GUANTANAMO DETAINEE AL-QARANI SEEKS CHADIAN PASSPORT UNDER ASSUMED IDENTITY REF: N'DJAMENA 244 Classified By: Ambassador Louis J. Nigro, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Embassy staff have been advised by contacts in Chad's law enforcement community that since his release from Chadian custody last June (see reftel and previous),former Guantanamo detainee Yousef al-Qarani (aka Mohamed al-Gharani) has obtained a fraudulent birth certificate in Moussoro, the birthplace of his parents, and used it to obtain a Chadian national identity card under a false name (unspecified). ¶2. (C) Al-Qarani has used the card to apply for a Chadian passport, and also produced supporting documents indicating that in his supposed new identity, he attended law school in London. Our contacts tell us that the passport application was denied, apparently because the Chadian side became aware of al-Qarani's real identity. ¶3. (C) As noted previously, al-Qarani has made clear his wish to travel outside Chad, but the GoC has advised us that it does not intend to give him a passport. The GOC has also stated publicly that it does not anticipate being in a position to give him a passport on grounds that "questions exist" about his identify. NIGRO