LEAHY VETTING REQUEST FOR TURKISH IMET CANDIDATES

UNCLAS STATE 077269 SENSITIVE, SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y ADDED SENSITIVE CAPTION E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR PREL PGOV TU SUBJECT: LEAHY VETTING REQUEST FOR TURKISH IMET CANDIDATES REF: LEE-GOODMAN EMAIL/TELCON 7/21/2009 ¶1. (SBU) This cable responds to the action request in ref a, requesting human rights vetting for the commander of the REPEAT GREEN LIVE MSG Turkish Special Forces unit which will host a Joint and Combined Exchange Training (JCET) program with U.S. counterparts in September 2009. ¶2. (U) The Department of State has vetted the individual listed in ref a and possesses no credible derogatory information as of July 20, 2009. Post is authorized to include the following individuals in USG-funded training: Name: Sahmurat Akgun Title: Major Unit: Turkish Special Forces-Ankara Organization: Turkish Special Forces DPOB: May 5, 1971-Ankara ¶3. (U) Post is permitted to provide the following statement to authorized parties: Embassy verifies that the Department of State possesses no credible information of gross violations of human rights by the individual identified above, as of July 20, 2009. Post may cite this cable in response. ¶4. (U) Note that if Post subsequently becomes aware of possible human rights violations by the individual listed above, Post should inform the Department and not proceed with training. Post should refer to the Leahy vetting guidance manual for additional assistance. CLINTON