From: Aftenposten
9/19/2002 8:50
"S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005398
SIPDIS NOFORN
DOJ FOR OIA:BRUCE SWARTZ, JUDI FRIEDMAN; BRUSSELS FOR LEGATT;
STATE FOR EUR/NB AND S/CT E.O. 12958:
DECL: 09/18/2012
TAGS: PTER, KJUS, PREL, NO, NL, IZ, JO
SUBJECT: MULLAH KREKAR CASE: STATE OF PLAY IN JORDAN
REF: A. (A) OSLO 2169
B. (B) THE HAGUE 2659
C. (C) KOSNETT/SILLIMAN TELECONS
D. (D) BERRY/RUSSEL E-MAILS
Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM. REASONS 1.5 (B,D).
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Summary
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1. (S)
Post has been in contact with the GOJ and the Dutch Embassy
this week regarding the Mullah Krekar case, and has provided
materials to assist the Jordanians with preparation of their
extradition request to the Netherlands. This cable recounts
steps taken thus far. End Summary.
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Sunday September 15
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2. (S)
Following weekend e-mails (ref d), Charge, PolCouns, and
Legatt met with Justice Minister Faris Nabulsi and raised the
Mullah Krekar issue. We encouraged the Minister to coordinate
the GOJīs case with the Military Prosecutorīs Office and the
General Intelligence Directorate (GID), as well as with his
Dutch counterpart. After the meeting, the Ministerīs Aide
phoned PolCouns to say that the MOJ had spoken to the Military
Prosecutorīs Office, who were in the process of drafting
preliminary documents to give to the Dutch.
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Monday September 16
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3. (S)
PolCouns met with Ali Al-Ayed, personal assistant to FonMin
Muasher, and Samer Naber, the MFAīs Legal Advisor, immediately
after they had turned over the GOJīs preliminary request for
extradition to the Dutch DCM Peter Van der Vliet. PolCouns
offered USDOJ assistance to Jordan as it prepares any
subsequent submission for the Dutch court system.
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Tuesday September 17
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4. (S)
PolCouns met with Dutch DCM Van der Vliet who reported that
initial indications from both the Dutch MOJ and MFA in The
Hague are that the 3-page Jordanian document submitted on 9/16
would be "good enough" to have Dutch custody over Mullah
Krekar extended for 20 days. It would not, however, be
sufficient for a Dutch judge to order extradition. Van der
Vliet mentioned that the GONL is considering sending a legal
expert to Jordan to help the Jordanians properly structure its
follow-on legal documents.
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Wednesday September 18
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5. (S/NF)
PolCouns met again with the MFAīs Ali al-Ayed and passed to
him the DOJ/OIA materials on how to draft documents for the
Dutch legal system, and again offered USDOJ
assistance. Al-Ayed commented that he didnīt know how much
influence the MFA or MOJ would have on this case as the
Military Prosecutorīs Office and GID are handling all of the
paperwork.
6. (S)
ORCA has passed the same materials and has made the same
offers of USG assistance through their own channels.
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Comment
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7. (S/NF)
Given the nature of the charges in this case, it is being
handled by the State Security Court prosecutorīs office, and
is being coordinated by the GID -- both entities that have
little institutional experience in preparing documents for
other legal systems. In addition, the GOJ is unclear about the
legal hurdles it will have to clear in presenting its more
detailed extradition argument. For example, do the Jordanians
merely have to show that they have legitimate, pre-existing,
and extraditable drug charges against Krekar, or must they
make a prima facie case including evidence? If they need to
make a more detailed case, to what degree of proof, and with
what kind of evidence (court records of the charges,
transcripts of the confessions of the convicted drug runners)
must that case be made? Does the GOJ have to refer
specifically to the Vienna Convention and cite it as the basis
for extradition, or will Dutch prosecutors do that before the
court? Will the Dutch defense be able to challenge the
Jordanian evidence, the reputation of Jordanian courts or the
mixed civilian/military nature of the State Security Court (in
which the drug charges were brought)? How important is the
format and use of specific Dutch or English legal terms to the
case?
8. (S/NF)
Finally, given that information on this case is coming to the
GOJ in different channels, and that we are not confident of
the level of Jordanian interagency coordination, Embassy Amman
would appreciate frequent readouts on the status of the case
so that we can be sure all involved GOJ entities have the most
current information.
GNEHM