PROGRESS IN LIBYA-SWISS CASE: ONE BUSINESSMAN CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES

C O N F I D E N T I A L TRIPOLI 000112

SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND EUR/CE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/10/2020
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, CVIS, LY, SZ
SUBJECT: PROGRESS IN LIBYA-SWISS CASE: ONE BUSINESSMAN CLEARED OF ALL
CHARGES

REF: Tripoli 91

CLASSIFIED BY: Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy Tripoli,
Department of State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)
1. (C) Summary: Swiss businessman Rachid Hamdani received a
"not guilty" verdict from a Libyan tax court on February 7,
officially clearing him of all legal charges levied against him
by the GOL. The verdict came a day after Max Goeldi, the other
Swiss businessman held in Libya since July 2007, was fined 1000
Libyan Dinar (approximately US$801) for tax violations. Now
that all charges against Hamdani have been lifted, the Swiss
Embassy and Hamdani's Libyan lawyer are working to determine
what other "conditions" must be fulfilled in order for Hamdani
to leave the country. Swiss Charge Stefano Lazarotto said that
as soon as the GOL allows the two Swiss businessmen to depart,
Switzerland will be ready to begin issuing visas as a first step
in "normalizing" the relationship. End Summary.

2. (C) On February 7, a Libyan tax court issued a "not guilty"
verdict to Rachid Hamdani, one of two Swiss businessmen detained
in Libya since July 2007. Swiss Charge Stefano Lazarotto
confirmed that following Hamdani's successful January 27 appeal
in the Immigration Court (reftel),Hamdani is officially cleared
of all legal charges the Libyan government has held against him.
The Swiss Embassy and Hamdani's Libyan lawyer are working to
determine what other "conditions" must be fulfilled in order for
Hamdani to leave the country, as the GOL is still holding
Hamdani's passport.

3. (C) The Hamdani verdict came a day after the same Libyan tax
court fined the other Swiss businessman, Max Goeldi, 1000 Libyan
Dinar (approximately US$801) for violating Libyan tax laws.
Lazarotto said that Goeldi does not intend to appeal that
decision. He reported that Goeldi's appeals trial before the
immigration court, which was postponed for unclear reasons last
week, had been rescheduled for this Thursday, February 11.

4. (C) Lazarotto noted that the political track continues to
move forward in Bern. According to Lazarotto, the Libyans and
Swiss have been in "continuous talks" via Germany over the past
few weeks. While they have not yet achieved resolution on all
points of disagreement, they are slowly moving toward
normalization. One sign of progress is that the Libyans issued
the new Swiss Vice Consul a two-year, multiple entry visa and a
residency permit. Lazarotto believes that the Libyans want to
give Switzerland the capacity to issue visas as soon as
normalization is achieved. The first piece of normalization
will be the visa policy, and the Swiss are ready to begin
issuing Schengen visas as soon as the Swiss businessmen are
allowed to leave the country and an agreement is signed.
Official and working visas will be their first priority
issuances. They expect to begin processing 40 visa applications
per day and to gradually increase to the previous average of
70-80 applications per day.

5. (C) Comment: Lazarotto's latest comments suggest that the
Swiss are anxious to end the Swiss businessmen saga and have
directly mapped out a solution for the Libyans -- release the
two Swiss and the visa hold will be lifted. The series of
positive court rulings over the last few weeks indicate that the
Libyans are willing to work within those parameters. Now that
the GOL has no legal reason to keep Hamdani in the country, the
coming days will tell whether Libya intends to fulfill its end
of the bargain. End Comment.

CRETZ