US embassy cable - 04MADRID2236

UNCLAS MADRID 002236 
 
SIPDIS 
 
VISAS VIPER 
 
DEPT FOR CA/VO/L/C AND INR/IC/TIPOFF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS, KVPR, PTER, ASEC, CMGT, PINR, PREL, SP () 
SUBJECT:  VISAS VIPER SUBMISSION 
 
REF: MADRID 01233 
 
1.   POST WISHES TO SUBMIT AND/OR UPDATE THE FOLLOWING 
  NAMES AND INFORMATION TO CLASS IN ACCORDANCE WITH VIPER 
  PROCEDURES: 
 
2.   DAILY SPANISH PRESS OF JUNE 9, 2004 AND SUBSEQUENT 
  DAYS REPORTED THAT THE ITALIAN POLICE ARRESTED THE 
  ALLEGED RADICAL ISLAMIST RABEI OSMAN SAYED AHMED, 
  ALIAS: "MOHAMED EL EGYPCIO" - "MOHAMED THE EGYPTIAN" IN 
  AN APARTMENT IN MILAN, ITALY.  THE POLICE ALSO ARRESTED 
  YAHIA PAYUNI, A PALESTINIAN WHO SHARED THE APARTMENT 
  WITH RABEI OSMAN, WHO WAS BEING INDOCTRINATED TO THE 
  "YIHAD".  THE ARREST FOLLOWED A THREE-MONTH PROBE BY 
  ITALY'S ANTI-TERRORIST UNIT AND ITALIAN INTELLIGENCE IN 
  COLLABORATION WITH SPANISH, FRENCH AND BELGIUM POLICE. 
  AS PART OF RABEI OSMAN RECORDED CONVERSATIONS AND 
  TELEPHONE CALLS, HE CLAIMED TO BE THE MASTERMIND OF 
  MADRID'S TRAIN BOMBINGS.  HE WAS ALSO PREPARING 
  TERRORIST ATTACKS IN THE METRO SUBWAY OF PARIS, FRANCE. 
  THE SPANISH NATIONAL COURT WILL NOW REQUEST RABEI 
  OSMAN'S EXTRADITION. 
 
3.   NAME: OSMAN SAYED AHMED, RABEI 
 
  -    ALIAS: "MOHAMED EL EGYPCIO" "MOHAMED THE EGYPTIAN" 
-    GENDER: MALE 
-    DPOB: JULY 22, 1971, EGYPT 
-    CLASS: POSITIVE 
 
4.   RABEI OSMAN PURSUED STUDIES OF CIVIL ENGINEERING 
  IN EGYPT AND SERVED IN THE EGYPTIAN ARMY IN THE RANK OF 
  A SOLDIER FOR THREE YEARS, WHERE HE ACQUIRED SOME 
  KNOWLEDGE OF EXPLOSIVES AND DEMOLITION TECHNIQUES.  IN 
  1993, HE LEFT EGYPT AND TRAVEL TO SUDAN AND SAUDI 
  ARABIA, WHERE HE ALLEGEDLY RECEIVED TERRORIST MILITARY 
  TRAINING IN AN AL-QAEDA CAMP.  RABEI OSMAN ALSO 
  TRAVELLED TO AFGHANISTAN AND BECAME AN EXPERT IN 
  EXPLOSIVES.  IN JANUARY 2001, HE CAME TO SPAIN WHERE HE 
  RESIDED UNTIL FEB. 27, 2003 THAT HE TRAVELLED TO FRANCE 
  AND LATER TO ITALY.  IN SPAIN HE WORKED AS A PAINTER 
  AND BECAME WELL KNOWN IN THE RADICAL ISLAMIST GROUPS OF 
  THE MADRID'S MOSQUE.  THE SPANISH POLICE INVESTIGATED 
  HIM, AND SPANISH JUDGE BALTASAR GARZON, IN CHARGE OF 
  THE INVESTIGATIONS ON AL-QAEDA NETWORK IN SPAIN, 
  INCLUDED HIM IN A JUDICIAL INDICTMENT AS A LEADER OF A 
  RADICAL GROUP LINKED TO THAT ORGANIZATION.  DURING HIS 
  STAY IN SPAIN, RABEI OSMAN WAS CLOSELY RELATED TO SOME 
  OF THE INDIVIDUALS LATER ARRESTED FOR THE MADRID'S M-11 
  ATTACKS WHO HELPED HIM IN THE RECRUITMENT OF RADICAL 
  ISLAMIST FOR HIS TERRORIST CELL, FOUAD EL MORABIT 
  AMGHAR, DPOB: SEP. 3, 1975, MOROCCO, ELECTRONIC 
  ENGINEER, ACCUSED OF COLLABORATION WITH A TERRORIST 
  ORGANIZATION, AND BASEL GHAYOUN, DPOB: FEB. 25, 1980, 
  SYRIA, ACCUSED OF PARTICIPATION IN THE ATTACKS. (BOTH 
  PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED IN REFTEL)  SPANISH INVESTIGATORS 
  LEARNED OF HIS PRESENT LOCATION IN ITALY THROUGH THEIR 
  DECLARATIONS AT COURT. RABEI OSMAN WAS ALSO CLOSELY 
  RELATED TO THE ALLEGED LEADER AND COORDINATOR OF THE 
  MADRID'S TERRORIST ATTACKS, SERHANE BEN ABDELMAJID, 
  ALIAS "THE TUNISIAN" WHO DIED WITH SOME OTHER 
  TERRORISTS IN THE MADRID'S APARTMENT BLAST. 
 
5.   NAME: PAYUNI, YAHIA 
 
  -    GENDER: MALE 
-    DPOB: 21 YEARS OLD, UNKNOWN (PALESTINIAN) 
-    CLASS: NEGATIVE 
-    DISCIPLE OF RABEI OSMAN IN THE RADICAL ISLAMIST 
DOCTRINE KNOWN AS THE "TAKFIR WAL HIJRA" THAT PREACHES 
THE FIGHT AGAINST NON-BELIEVERS AND POLITHEISTICS.  HIS 
GRADE OF INVOLVEMENT IN TERRORIST ACTIVITIES HAS NOT 
YET BEEN DETERMINED. 
 
MANZANARES