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FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4397
INFO RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS IMMEDIATE 0885
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 4921

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 TRIPOLI 000076 
 
NOFORN 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR S/WCI (RICCI, GOREY), L (SCHWARTZ, POMPER) 
AND NEA/MAG (NARDI, JOHNSON) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  2/1/2019 
TAGS: KBTR PREL PGOV PHUM PTER PINR PINS LY
SUBJECT: LIBYA: MEETING WITH RETURNED GTMO DETAINEES UNDER USG-GOL TRANSFER FRAMEWORK MOU  

REF: A) NARDI-GODFREY/POMPER EMAIL 08/22/2008, B) WILLIAMS-STEVENS EMAIL 08/23/2008, C) 08 TRIPOLI 855, D) 08 TRIPOLI 685, E) 08 TRIPOLI 455, F) TRIPOLI 57  

CLASSIFIED BY: Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy - Tripoli, U.S. Dept of State. REASON: 1.4 (b), (c), (d) 

¶1. (S/NF) Summary: Post visited two returned Guantanamo detainees to confirm their welfare and whereabouts and clarify the status of any pending legal action against them.  Trials against both detainees have, according to their understanding, been completed.  One said he was found guilty of terrorism-related offenses and sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, and has appealed that decision.  The other said he was found innocent of the terrorism-related charges against him, but remains in detention, possibly on narcotics-related charges that pre-date his alleged terrorist activities.  Separately, and contrary to the statements of the two detainees, Post received a diplomatic note from the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation (MFA-equivalent) indicating that the two mens' cases had been referred to court, and that no sentences had been pronounced against them as yet. Post is following up to request more current and comprehensive information concerning the status of the legal proceedings against the two returned detainees.   End summary.  

¶2. (S/NF) Per refs A-C, P/E Chief interviewed separately returned Guantanamo detainee Muhamed Abdallah Mansur al-Rimi (AKA Abdul Salam Abdul Omar Sufrani, ISN 194) and Ben Qumu Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamouda (ISN 557) on January 29.  The meeting, which Post had requested via diplomatic note on November 2, took place at a GOL security service facility in Tripoli.  A host government security official facilitated the meeting; however, no host government officials participated in the meetings with the two returned detainees.  The last visit to the two returned detainees took place on September 1, 2008 (ref D).  ISN 194  

¶3. (S/NF) Al-Rimi, who was returned to Libya in December 2006, said he remains in detention at the Abu Salim prison, located in the Tripoli suburbs.  (Note: Al-Rimi had been detained at an External Security Organization (ESO) detention facility between his return to Libya in December 2006 and June 2007, when he was transferred to Abu Salim.  End note.)  Al-Rimi had been alone in his cell until about three weeks ago, when ISN 557 moved into his cell with him.  Exercise has improved: al-Rimi is now able to exercise every other day for 45 minutes to an hour.  (Note: He told us in September that he was only able to leave his cell for exercise once per week.  End note.) He said he is able to leave his cell and interact with other prisoners.  He is provided with drinking water, tea and three meals a day.  He has a copy of the Quran, but does not have access to other books, radio or television.  He has access to medications and has been visited by a prison doctor on the occasions when he has been ill.  Al-Rimi said that his four brothers, who are resident in the eastern city of Benghazi, visited him shortly after our last meeting with him early last September.  His last family visit before that was from his sisters, who saw him in July 2008. (Note: Our understanding is that members of his family have visited him on five occasions since his return to Libya - January 2007, May 2007 (ref D), March 2008, July 2008 and September 2008.  End note.)  

¶4. (S/NF) Asked about the condition of his arm and his teeth, about which he had previously complained (ref E), al-Rimi said both were fine.  He said he had no problems with his arm and hand now, and had not had needed to see a physician since our last visit with him.  5. (S/NF) Regarding his understanding of the status of legal proceedings against him, al-Rimi reiterated that he heard from other prisoners who were present in the courtroom (al-Rimi was not present when the verdict and sentence were read) that he had been found guilty of some charges (NFI) against him on/about June 16 and had been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment. (Note: Per ref E, al-Rimi's understanding was that he faced four charges: 
1) membership in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group; 
2) membership in al-Qaeda; 
3) forging a passport and travel documents and using them to exit the country; and 
4) failing to secure permission to exit the country when he left to fight in Afghanistan.  It is not clear which of those charges he was convicted of.  End note.)  Al-Rimi said that he had filed an appeal of his case not long after he was sentenced - he signed a document given to him by prison officials shortly after his reported sentencing, which he understood to be his application for appeal.  He had heard nothing since about the status of his appeal, and had received no information to date from Libyan officials about his trial, verdict or sentence.  Al-Rimi said he wanted to request political asylum in Saudi Arabia and asked if  TRIPOLI 00000076  002 OF 003   that were possible.  ISN 557  

¶6. (S/NF) Hamouda (ISN 557), who was returned to Libya in August 2007, said he also remains in detention at the Abu Salim prison.  (Note: He was detained  at an ESO detention facility for about three months after his return and was then transferred to the Abu Salim prison.  End note.)  He confirmed that he had been moved into a cell with al-Rimi about three weeks ago. (Note: His biggest complaint in previous visits had been that he remained in solitary confinement.  End note.) He was now able to leave his cell every other day for 45 minutes to an hour to exercise (he had not previously been able to do so).  While he was also free to leave his cell to interact with other prisoners, he refrained from doing so because he did not know them and did not want "any complications or problems".  He is provided with drinking water, tea and three meals a day.  He has a copy of the Quran, but does not have access to books, radio or television. He had not received a family visit since our last meeting with him in September 2008, but noted that his family live in the eastern city of Derna and that it is difficult for them to travel to Tripoli to see him.  (Note: Our understanding is that Hamouda has had two visits by members of his family since his return: his wife and six children visited in late December 2007, and his wife and brother-in-law saw him in January 2008.  End note.)  

¶7. (S/NF) Hamouda has access to medication and was visited last October or November by a prison doctor, who told him he suffered from rheumatism.  He complained that he was "tired and sick", and appeared to be unwell.  He showed P/E Chief sores in his mouth, which he attributed to his poor condition, and complained that the medication prescribed for his rheumatism was ineffective.  8. (S/NF) On his legal status, Hamouda said he had attended a hearing at a state security court session in the Abu Salim prison complex in October 2008 at which the judge had pronounced him innocent of the charges against him.  His state-appointed attorney was present at that hearing.  He told us previously that he faces three charges: 
1) membership in the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group; 
2) membership in al-Qaeda, and; 
3) that he performed illicit work for a private company in Sudan and Afghanistan.  He also faces charges related to a drug trafficking offense for which he was convicted and imprisoned in the early 1990's.  He complained that the charges against him are based entirely on hearsay from witnesses whose credibility is suspect, and maintained that he was innocent.  (Note: It is not clear whether Hamouda was acquitted of all charges against him, or only those related to his alleged terrorist activities. If the latter, he could still face charges related to his alleged involvement in narcotics trafficking.  End note.) Stressing that he had been found innocent - "I love everybody and do not hate anybody" - he expressed frustration that he remained in prison and complained that he was "psychologically exhausted and not sleeping".  "I want my rights and I want to be let go", he said.  He complained that a gold necklace and USD 2,000 in cash had been confiscated by Pakistani authorities at the time of his detention and asked for help in getting them back.  TIMELINESS OF ACCESS  

¶9. (S/NF) After securing access in September 2008 within one week of our request, facilitation of access to the detainees under the revised rubric detailed in ref A was not quick or straightforward in this instance.  Post submitted a diplomatic note on November 2 formally requesting access to the detainees. Access was secured only after the request was reiterated several times in MFA and security channels.  LEGAL STATUS  

¶10. (C) As reported ref F, Saleh Abdulsalam Saleh, Director of the Qadhafi Development Foundation's (QDF) Human Rights Committee passed P/E Chief a copy of a letter from the QDF to the International Committee of the Red Cross requesting help in securing the repatration of Libyan detainees at Guantanamo Bay to Libya.  The letter asked that the USG provide information concerning the legal status of Libyan detainees.  We reminded Saleh that while we had formally requested information on the status of legal proceedings against two Libyan detainees already returned from GTMO to Libya (diplomatic notes were most recently sent in June, August and November 2008), we had never received a  TRIPOLI 00000076  003 OF 003   response.  Saleh agreed to follow up.  Post received a brief diplomatic note from the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation (MFA-equivalent) on January 25 indicating that Hamouda's case (ISN 557) had been referred to court on April 8, 2008 and that al-Rimi's (ISN 194) case had been referred to court on December 8, 2007 (text of dipnote below).  The note claimed that sentences had not been pronounced in either case.  The note contradicts al-Rimi's understanding that he was sentenced on/about June 16, 2008 to 25 years' imprisonment, and Hamouda's understanding that he was pronounced innocent in October 2008.  Post will follow up with the MFA and in other channels to reiterate the request for more current and comprehensive information concerning the status of the legal proceedings against them.  

¶11. (S/NF) (Begin text of diplomatic note dated January 25, 2009) The General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation (Americas Desk) sends its compliments to the U.S. Embassy in the Great Jamahiriya and, further to the Embassy's diplomatic note #943 dated November 11, 2008 (sic) regarding news about the judicial proceedings taken against: 
1) Sufian Ahmed el-Gomo al-Hassadi (Embassy note: Hamouda/ISN 557), and; 
2) Mohamed Aballah Mansur Errimi (Embassy note: al-Rimi/ISN 194), we would like to inform the esteemed Embassy that:  The first defendant was referred to court on April 8, 2008.  The second defendant was referred to court on December 8, 2007.  No sentences were pronounced against them as yet, and as regards visiting them, this is the competence of the judiciary.  (End text of dipnote) 
CRETZ