BULGARIA REQUESTS GITMO VISIT

S E C R E T SOFIA 000133

SIPDIS

FOR S/GC MICHAEL WILLIAMS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2020
TAGS: PGOV PREL BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA REQUESTS GITMO VISIT

REF: 09 SOFIA 690

Classified By: Ambassador James B. Warlick for reasons 1.4 (b)/(d)


1. (U) Following is the text of a letter received February 24
by Ambassador Warlick from Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov.


2. (S) Begin text:

Your Excellency,

With regard to the request of the Government of the United
States of America for assistance in acceptance of individuals
"cleared for release" from the Detention Center in the U.S.
Naval base in Guantanamo Bay/Cuba and preliminary
conversations with Mr. Daniel Fried -- Special Envoy for
Closure of Guantanamo, I would like to inform you that in the
Republic of Bulgaria there was carried out a careful analysis
of this question. The possible acceptance of such of
individuals was discussed in the joint meetings of the
Parliamentary Commissions of the Internal Security and Public
Order of the Foreign Policy, Defence and Security.

In the Republic of Bulgaria there was established, with a
written Order (No. P-1 dated January 5, 2010) issued by the
Prime Minister, an Interdepartmental Working Group to prepare
a national position on the reception of abovementioned
individuals that had carried out an analysis and evaluation
of all the aspects related to the eventual accommodation and
integration of the former detainees, as well as had examined
the information about eight individuals supplied by the USA.
According to the general position of the Interdepartmental
Working Group, as potential suitable individuals to be
accepted could be identified two among the eight examined
persons:


1. Jihad DEYAB, Syrian national of Lebanese origin, DPOB 10
July 1971, Jedeta Lebanon;


2. Abdul Rauf Omar Mohammad Abu AL-QUSIN, Libyan national,
born in 1965 in Tripoli, Libya.

According to the position of the Interdepartmental Working
Group the supplied information until now is not exhaustive
enough to draw up a definitive position on the possible
reception of one of the two individuals and for the
preparation of his subsequent complete integration.

On the 04 February 2010 the Council of Ministers of Republic
of Bulgaria issued Decision No. 57 on the reception of the
individuals that will be released from Guantanamo. With
regard to this Decision, with a view to the complete
clarifying of the profiles of Jihad DEYAB and Abdul Rauf Omar
Mohammad Abu AL-QUSIN, and with a purpose of the timely
planning of the appropriate legal, organizational and law
enforcement measures related to accommodation of the
individuals, I kindly ask your assistance in receiving by
Republic of Bulgaria from the Specialized Administration of
the State Department on the closure of the Detention Center
at Guantanamo, the whole available information, including the
classified, acquired by the security services.

Our State would also like to take advantage of the
possibility to send a team of two experts and an Arabic
interpreter in order to conduct an interview in the Detention
Center, with the two aforementioned individuals.

It will be of significant importance, to reach a final
decision on the part of Republic of Bulgaria, as well as for
the preparation of the abovementioned interviews, to obtain
the following information as soon as possible:

GENERAL QUESTIONS


1. What kind of information do the detainees of Guantanamo
have about their actual status and their possible future
(release, coming back in the State of origin, accommodation
in other country, etc.)? In what degree are they informed
that they are objects of selection for reception by the
different EU Member States?


2. Is it acceptable to audio record the interviews that the
Bulgarian team will conduct?

THE PERSONAL QUESTIONS


1. Would it possible to supply us in advance with the
biometric data and photos of the two individuals, as well as
information about their health condition (information from
their medical examination, medical treatment, use of
medicines, etc.) and about their psychological profile?


2. Are there some identification documents of these
individuals available? What type of documents is it? Could
the detainees obtain it after their release, no matter
whether the documents are valid or not?


3. Do they keep some relations (correspondence, phone calls
or in other way) with their families (wife, children) and do
they declare some intentions to live with them after their
release?


4. What kind are their intentions about their professional
and personal life, respectively -- what are their
expectations of the receiving country?


5. What is their concrete and specific religious
affiliation? What is the level of the sense of religion that
they demonstrate (degree of observation of religious
principles and practices, and the importance of the religion
for their personal views of life)?


6. What languages do they speak and in which degree? (In
the supplied documents it is noted that Jihad DEYAB speaks
only Arabic, but there is information that his mother is
Argentinean -- Could be there a probability that he speaks
Spanish?)


7. Are there among the rest of the detainees individuals
that had been detained together with the two aforementioned
individuals? If yes, could you inform us about their
identity and their status?


8. Do the detainees keep some close friendly relations with
the rest of detainees and who are they (If it is possible
could you provide us with information about their identity,
ethnicity, their profile and status.)?

We would be grateful to receive information on the person we
should contact in view of visiting Guantanamo Detention
Center in order to conduct an interview and on the
person/contact point in view of the whole organization of the
negotiating the procedure about the possible acceptance in
the Republic of Bulgaria of a detainee cleared for release.

While looking forward to hearing form you at your earliest
convenience,

I remain,

Sincerely Yours,

Signed

(Tsvetan Tsvetanov)

END TEXT

WARLICK