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