ARCHIVAL IMMUNITY WAIVER IN RESPONSE TO TAJIK MVD

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 010430 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2019 TAGS: ASEC CVIS KLIG KVIS TI SUBJECT: ARCHIVAL IMMUNITY WAIVER IN RESPONSE TO TAJIK MVD REQUEST FOR ARCHIVES AND COMMUNCATIONS FROM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE REF: A. 09 DUSHANBE 0066 Classified By: SCA/CEN Tom Hushek for reasons 1.4(c) and (d) ¶1. (C) On January 4, 7, and 9, Post has received three official written requests for documentation and information from the Tajik Ministry of Interior related to a criminal investigation into a criminal case violating the Tajik law "swindling". (reftel) According to the documents received from the Government of Tajikistan a locally employed Embassy staff member from the Public Diplomacy section, Maya Vahobova, has been accused of selling promises of visa support along with a second Tajik national, Shakhzoda Mirova. ¶2. (U) Post is authorized to transmitthe following points to the Government of Tajikistan by whatever means are deemed most appropriate. ¶3. (C rel GOTI) Under Article 24 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the archives of the Embassy are inviolable at any time and wherever they shall be. -- The United States hereby expressly waives its archival inviolability for the limited purpose of providing the following information to the Tajik Ministry of the Interior in relation to its criminal investigation of Maya Vahobova and Shakhzoda Mirova for an alleged violation of Tajik law "swindling" and for no other purpose. -- The following questions were posed by the Tajik Ministry of Interior. Below each question is Post's answer. ¶A. Please inform the Ministry whether Muyassara Kahorovna Vahobova is employed by the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Tajikistan. If yes, beginning when, in what role/job, and what are her functional responsibilities. Also, please advise the Ministry if she has the responsibility to prepare documents for the issuance of U.S. visas. ANSWER: Muyassara Kahorovna VAHOBOVA is currently employed by the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Tajikistan. She is the Cultural Assistant. The cultural assistant reports to the Cultural Affairs Officer and is the mission's sole local employee who handles cultural and exchange activities. The incumbent plans, develops, and administers nationwide education and cultural programs designed to help Tajik citizens better understand U.S. culture, values, and policies. The cultural assistant is granted broad discretion in recommending and organizing receptions, exhibitions, artist performances, arts training, and visits by U.S. cultural envoys to promote US policies and values. She manages the logistics and implementation of these events. The cultural assistant assists in the management of visits by Tajik citizens to the United States as part of cultural, educational, and professional exchange programs. She helps identify applicants for these programs, and a team of USG citizens selects the participants. The cu ltural assistant then works directly with the participants to collect biographic data and arranges travel, leads or participates in pre-departure orientations, and return briefings. She also prepares reports for State liaison offices in Washington. About 5 percent of the cultural assistant's time is spent helping applicants fill out the standard online visa forms, mostly for the International Visitor program. The mandatory English language visa form DS-156 can ONLY be completed online and Maya helps those who do not speak English or who lack Internet access or even electricity, and sometimes their dependents who accompany them on the program. The applicants fill in the paper copies of the form, often in Russian, then give Maya the form to put the data enter into the English online form. Maya enters the information using her own computer, prints out the resulting document with the bar code, and gives the applicant the form, which the applicant takes to the consular section during the interview. She is the liaison to the consular section, which sets the visa interview appointment. She does not conduct visa interviews or have any interaction with the actual visa application process. She does not issue visas nor have any influence over the issuance of visas. The Consul reports that he has never been approached by Maya with any inappropriate questions regarding the visa process. ¶B. Who works with Vahobova in her section and in the office? Which office telephone number and mobile phone number does she use? What are the other office telephone numbers in her area? And who has access to her phone and the other office telephones? ANSWER: The Public Diplomacy section of the Embassy is led by Jacqueline McKennan and her deputy Anne Benjaminson. Both are American diplomats accredited to the Republic of Tajikistan. There are currently two other citizens of Tajikistan that work in the Public Diplomacy office. Abdumalik Kadirov is a Cultural Affairs Assistant working alongside Maya Vahobova. Nigina Alieva is an Information Assistant and works with the mass media. Maya Vahobova's office number is 229-2312. Her cell phone number is 90-700-7060. Anyone in the Public Diplomacy section could, theoretically, have access to any of the office telephones in the section. The other extension numbers for the section are: 2351, 2313, 2315, 2314, 2318. ¶C. Which Embassy employee uses the telephone numbers 229-23-00 and 229-23-12. Who has right to use these telephones? Is it possible to make outgoing call from these numbers. ANSWER: 229-2300 is the general number for the ConsularAffairs section. Nobody in the Public Diplomacy section would have access to that number. It does not connect to numbers outside the Consular section. There is an automated answer and reply system that allows callers to get routine answers in multiple languages to Consular services. Nobody uses that number directly to call outside the Embassy. 229-2312 is a telephone number in the Public Diplomacy section and belongs to Maya Vahobova. Anyone in the Public Diplomacy section could, theoretically, have access to this number. ¶D. Did Vahobova speak at any universities or similar institutions in Dushanbe on behalf of U.S. Government programs from July up to present time? If yes when, with which program, and in which institutions? ANSWER: In September, Maya and Anne Benjaminson attended the International Education Fair in Khujand attended by hundreds of academics, students. Many educational institutions, NGOs, and foreign missions set up information booths and made presentations about international study programs. On the following dates Maya accompanied U.S. Embassy personnel who delivered lectures about quoted topics approved by the Ministry of Education: Nov 12 Anne Benjaminson, Pedagogical institute, "Education in the U.S." Nov 14 DCM Necia Quast, Technological University of Tajikistan, "American Agriculture." Nov 20 - Anne Benjaminson - Tajik-Russian Slavonic University ) presentation on the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant program and other exchange programs. Jan 7 ) RSO Seth Green, Technological University of Tajikistan, "The U.S. Constitution." ¶E. What documents are necessary to apply for an American visa? ANSWER: The following United States Government forms are necessary to apply for a visa: Forms DS-156 (visa application),DS-157 (for men aged 16-45) and DS-158 (for students). In addition, applicants must present 1 photo, a valid foreign passport and the Consular fee of 131 USD. ¶F. The order of addressing, obtaining and extension of USA visa. ANSWER: The process of receiving a visa is 1) Make an advanced appointment online. 2) Submit the forms, photo, ID, and fee on the day of the appointment. 3) Participate in a visa interview with an American Consul. 4) Submit electronic fingerprints at the time of the interview. 5) Visa wait time is typically one day after the interview. No visa extensions are available. Each time the applicant must go through the above process and pay a new fee each time. ¶G. Is there a citizen of the Republic of Tajikistan by the name "Muyasara" and "Maysara" approximately 40-45 years old employed by the Embassy of the United States of America in the Republic of Tajikistan with the exception of VAHOBOVA Muyassara Kahorovna? ANSWER: There are no other Embassy employees named "Muyasara" and "Maysara", regardless of age. ¶H. In the course of the Embassy's preliminary investigation, the Embassy's local security employee, Yusuf Kholov, used a photo spread to ascertain whether Mirova could identify Vahobova. The Ministry requests a copy of the photos used for the investigative file and evidence. ¶I. Which Embassy employees use telephone numbers 229-20-00 and 229-23-14? Who uses these telephone numbers? Is this possible to make outgoing call from these numbers? ANSWER: 229-2000 is the general Embassy switchboard number. Any and all phone extensions in the Embassy will show this number for outgoing calls and this number is widely and publicly distributed as the Embassy's general number. While nobody individually has the 229-2000 number, all outgoing calls from the Embassy would show this number. 229-2314 is a number in the Public Diplomacy section. The desk the phone is on is currently vacant. Anyone in the Public Diplomacy section could, theoretically, have access to this number. ¶J. On December 2, 2008, please provide the Ministry information about when Vahobova and Kholov arrived and departed the Embassy. ANSWER: Yusuf Kholov arrived at the Embassy on December 2, 2008 at 0705 and departed the Embassy at 1746 hours. Maya Vahobova arrived at the Embassy on December 2, 2008 at 0807 and departed the Embassy at 1659 hours. ¶K. According to phone records of incoming and outgoing calls from cellular phone of Mirova (tel: 93-520-00-88) she repeatedly called to the following phone numbers of the U.S. Embassy. Please provide us with the information regarding who from the Embassy spoke on the phone with Mirova? What was the subject of their conversation and whether phone conversations were recorded? If yes, please provide investigation with the mentioned conversation to add it to criminal case. i. 229-23-00: 11-12-2008 at 11:08: duration of call 36 seconds ii. 229-23-00: 11-12-2008 at 11:30: duration of call 25 seconds iii. 229-20-00: 11-18-2008 at 8:34: duration of call 1 minute 36 seconds iv. 229-23-00: 11-20-2008 at 15:16: duration of call 6 seconds v. 229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 17:11: duration of call 1 minute 43 seconds vi. 229-20-00: 12-02-2008 at 17:14: duration of call 4 minutes 22 seconds vii. 229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 22:22: duration of call 1 minute 43 seconds viii. 229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 22:30: duration of call 1 minute 30 seconds ix. 229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 22:33: duration of call 45 seconds ANSWER: Calls to the number 229-2300 were sent to an automated message service. There are numerous automated messages and options to acquire various information related to Consular services such as American passport renewal, non-immigrant visa services, birth and death notifications, and other services commonly provided by Consular sections around the world. As this is not a number that a live person answers, there was not likely any conversation ) especially with the short duration of the calls. The number 229-2300 does not have an operator assigned and cannot transfer calls to other extensions. Calls to the number 229-2000 go to the main operator. The operator received dozens of calls per day and does not register or log whom they transfer calls to. A check of Embassy records shows that 570-0088 did in fact dial the Embassy number at 08:35. After 26 seconds, the call was transferred to the Consular section (extension 2308) to local employee Natasha Pilipenko. The call lasted 1 minute exactly and was transferred to extension 2302, belonging to local employee Tahmina Dekhoti. The call lasted 29 seconds and was disconnected. Dekhoti indicated that she did not in fact speak with Mirova from that number, but rather it was Sadbarg Ganieva calling from Mirova's cell phone. According to Takhmina, Ganieva had called many times before but Embassy records indicate that other numbers were used. She said that her son and several other student aged people paid between 3500 and 4500 USD to Maya through someone named Shakhzoda. According to Ganieva, Maya promised to assist with an F-1 student visa if they pay her and eventually disappeared. According to Takhmina, Ganieva made implicit threats of physical harm to her ) and indicated that she had &high level connections8 at the Tajik State Committee for National Security. During the call in question, she also mentioned that she had already spoken with both Maya Vakhobova and Yusuf Kholov and was aware that the Embassy had filed a case with the Ministry of Interior. Sadbarg Ganieva is the head of the local UNESCO office, and an employee of the Tajik Ministry of Foreign Affairs. RSO learned during the investigation that Sadbarg Ganieva's son is the boyfriend of Mirova. CLINTON