US embassy cable - 04KUWAIT3369

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 003369 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
FOR NEA/ARP, S/WCI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PTER, KU 
SUBJECT: KUWAITI DETAINEES IN U.S. CUSTODY:  MFA AFFIRMS 
THEIR RE-IMPRISONMENT, SAYS EXTRADITION IS GOOD POLITICS 
 
REF: A. STATE 204029 
     B. KUWAIT 3056 
 
Classified By: DCM Matthew H. Tueller, reasons 1.4(b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  Political Chief met September 26 with MFA Director 
of Coordination and Follow-up, Ambassador Khalid Al-Maqamis, 
to deliver information on the designation of a Kuwaiti 
national as an enemy combatant (Ref A and Septel) and to 
receive information on the verdict against detainee Adel 
Zamil Abdul Mohsin Al-Zamil.  (Note:  Text faxed to NEA/ARP 
for official Department translation; unofficial translation 
of text provided in para 5.) Al-Maqamis used the meeting to 
discuss the status of several Kuwaiti detainees and argued 
that their extradition to Kuwait would only bolster already 
strong bilateral relations. 
 
2.  (C)  Al-Maqamis said the GOK was already aware of the 
September 20 designation of Sa Ad Madhi Sa Ad Howash Al Azmi 
as an enemy combatant, but appreciated the official 
notification.  He reported that Post had thus far provided 
official notification of the enemy combatant status of two 
Kuwait nationals, but there remain three, not yet identified, 
Kuwaitis in U.S. custody who had been declared enemy 
combatants.  He sought post assistance in clarifying the 
status of these additional detainees. 
 
3.  (C)  Turning to the extradition of Al-Mutairi, Al-Maqamis 
said an aircraft was ready and that the GOK  was waiting for 
instructions regarding the flight plans and Guantanamo entry 
requirements for the traveling security team.  He added the 
GOK strongly hoped Al-Zamil could be transported on the same 
plane.  PolChief was noncommittal, commenting that the 
information provided in the dipnote would help Washington 
reach a final decision on Al-Zamil.  Al-Maqamis pressed the 
matter, describing the detainee issues as a problem of 
internal politics.  Members of Parliament had begun inquiries 
into the status of Kuwaiti nationals in U.S. custody and 
family members of the detained were gaining increasingly more 
attention from the press.  The U.S. return of as many 
detainees as possible in the shortest time frame allowable 
would alleviate pressure on the GOK and cast a positive light 
on U.S.-GOK relations.  He further stressed that all 
detainees would be immediately incarcerated, the GOK would 
abide by all agreements reached with the U.S. on the handling 
of the detainees, and family members of detained Kuwaitis had 
been informed their relatives would be imprisoned upon return 
to Kuwait. 
 
4.  (S/NF)  Al-Maqamis also raised the case of Abdelraham 
Al-Bathali (also Al-Badali), reportedly a minor detained at 
Abu Ghraib.  He said the ICRC as well as Iraqi Minister of 
Human Rights Bakhtyar Amin had confirmed Al-Bathali,s 
detention; he was perplexed why the USG could not do the 
same.  While Al-Bathali,s return to Kuwait is the GOK,s 
ultimate goal, in the interim, Al-Maqamis asked post to 
provide an update on his status, any information on whether 
he had been interrogated, and a possible date for his release. 
 
 
5.  (SBU)  Unofficial Translation of  Al-Zamil Dipnote. 
 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
Coordination and Follow-up Department 
 
20042119 
 
September 25, 2004 
 
Strictly Confidential and Urgent 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sends its compliments to the 
Embassy of the United States of America in Kuwait. 
 
We would like to inform you that the Kuwaiti citizen detained 
in Guantanamo, Adel Zamil Abdul Mohsin Al-Zamil, is wanted 
for arrest by the Kuwaiti authorities immediately upon 
entering the country, in execution of the verdict issued 
against him in the case No. 1465/2000 ) appealed felonies ) 
444/2000 felonies (200/2000 Nugra) dated November 6, 2000 
which provided for jailing him for one year as a final 
verdict and not subject to appeal. 
 
We would like to also inform you that officials in the State 
of Kuwait have approved sending a special plane to transport 
the Kuwaiti citizen detained in Guantanamo, Nasser Nagir 
Al-Mutairi, to the State of Kuwait, and also wants to inform 
you that the concerned authorities will take all the legal 
measures with the detainee upon extraditing him pursuant to 
the laws of Kuwait and the legal aspects enshrined in your 
memo No. 760 dated August 11, 2004. 
 
6.  (U)  Baghdad:  minimize considered. 
LeBaron