US embassy cable - 05PARIS107

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARIS 000107 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PTER, PHUM, IZ, FR 
SUBJECT: SYRIAN FORMER HOSTAGE IN IRAQ FILES LAWSUIT 
AGAINST U.S. AND EXONERATES HOSTAGE-TAKERS 
 
REF: 04 PARIS 9098 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Josiah Rosenblatt, reasons 
1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C) Summary and comment: French officials, in preliminary 
comments to us, stressed the strictly private nature of a 
lawsuit filed in a French court by a Syrian former hostage in 
Iraq, who accused named U.S. military officials of torture 
and war crimes during the weeklong period he was in MNF-1 
custody last November.  The MFA expert on ICC issues 
downplayed the potential for an ICC role in the lawsuit and 
stressed that French courts rarely take up cases where 
neither the plaintiff nor defendant has any ties to France. 
Other MFA officials conceded that the GoF had appealed to the 
Syrian former hostage not to go forward with the lawsuit or 
"exaggerated" allegations while two French hostages remained 
in captivity; the same officials stressed that, with the 
release of the French hostages, the GoF lacked the means to 
prevent the Syrian driver from pursuing his case, which is 
being advanced by a French lawyer known for notorious 
clients, including Tariq Aziz, Nazi war criminal Klaus 
Barbie, and terrorist Carlos (Jackal).  While it remains 
unclear whether French courts will accept jurisdiction in 
this case, the credibility and past history in Iraq of the 
Syrian accuser remain in doubt, with his latest allegations 
contradicting earlier public statements he made about his 
treatment by U.S. military officials last November.  End 
summary and comment. 
 
2.  (SBU) Mohammed al-Joundi, a Syrian driver taken hostage 
in Iraq with two French journalists in August and later 
rescued by U.S. troops in Fallujah in November, filed a civil 
lawsuit in a Paris court January 4 reportedly accusing U.S. 
military officials of torture and war crimes.  Post is 
seeking to obtain a copy of the lawsuit, which press reports 
describe as naming Commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary 
Force in Fallujah GEN George Sattler, as well as other 
unnamed persons who may have committed or known about alleged 
mistreatment.  In a series of recent French media 
appearances, Al Joundi, speaking via an interpreter, accused 
U.S. troops of torturing him with electric shocks, 
threatening him with death, and striking him on the back, 
neck and feet during a weeklong detention following his 
discovery by U.S. troops in Fallujah November 11.  Al Joundi 
is represented by French attorney Jacques Verges, a longtime 
defender of extremist causes whose past and present client 
list includes former Iraqi Vice Minister Tariq Aziz, Nazi war 
criminal Klaus Barbie, Carlos "the Jackal," and Slobodan 
Milosevic. 
 
3.  (C) Al-Joundi's status in France and basis for filing a 
lawsuit remain unclear; according to media reports, he 
arrived in Paris November 19, after the NGO "Reporters 
without Borders" appealed for the French government to bring 
him and his family to France because of security concerns in 
Iraq.  Attorney Jacques Verges claimed publicly that 
al-Joundi is seeking refugee status in France and cannot 
return to Syria, and on that basis is entitled to file suit 
in French courts on alleged crimes taking place outside 
France.  Olivier Barrat, the MFA's specialist on ICC matters, 
told us January 6 that he did not believe there would be any 
role for the ICC in al-Joundi's suit against the US military. 
 When asked about jurisdiction, he said it was quite rare for 
French courts to take up cases where neither the plaintiff 
nor the defendant had any ties to France.  Nonetheless, he 
did say there was a limited ability for French courts to 
address matters of "universal competence," but that it was 
completely up to the courts to rule whether al-Joundi's suit 
could be accepted.  His implication was that the suit would 
be turned down but he was careful not to go on record. 
 
4.  (C) In preliminary comments to us on the al-Joundi 
lawsuit, other MFA officials stressed that al-Joundi is 
acting in a private capacity with the GoF having little 
recourse to limit his actions.  MFA DAS-equivalent for 
Iraq/Iran/Arabian Gulf issues Antoine Sivan conceded to us 
January 6 that he personally had contact with al-Joundi prior 
to the December 21 release of French ex-hostages Christian 
Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, and urged that al-Joundi 
remain quiet on his threatened lawsuit until the two French 
hostages were released.  Now with Malbrunot and Chesnot free, 
Sivan claimed, the GoF had no leverage to limit al-Joundi's 
actions.  MFA Iraq desk officer Renaud Salins (protect) 
described Sivan's earlier conversations with al-Joundi as a 
private GoF attempt to calm the situation and advise 
al-Joundi against making exaggerated claims.  Sivan claimed 
that he was unaware on what basis al-Joundi remained in 
France and that he would seek clarification and get back to 
us.  Sivan also concurred when we observed that al-Joundi's 
recent public accusations appeared to contradict his initial 
public remarks upon his arrival in Paris last November. 
5.  (C) Comment: Al-Joundi's background and reported lengthy 
exile in Iraq from Syria remain murky and suggest that he may 
be more than a simple chauffeur.  A local French-Iraqi 
anthropologist who is a frequent French media commentator on 
Iraq issues told us privately that the fact that al-Joundi 
had fled Syria and resided in Saddam-led Iraq for a lengthy 
period would suggest a linkage to the former Iraqi regime's 
security services.  The same commentator told us he was 
researching further details on al-Joundi's background which 
he would seek to publicize once he reached a credible 
conclusion.  Al-Joundi has avoided criticism of his hostage 
takers, the Islamic Army in Iraq, despite the fact that the 
group has been responsible for a number of decapitations of 
foreign hostages.  In a November 29 "Liberation" interview, 
al-Joundi stressed that he was not at all mistreated by his 
captors, and conceded that by the end of his detention he had 
developed a sense of fraternity with his captors to the 
extent that he offered to take up arms and join them.  In 
more recent press comments, al-Joundi defended his decision 
not to sue his captors by asserting that the Islamic Army in 
Iraq had "the right to defend their country." 
 
6.  (C) Comment, continued: Al-Joundi's allegations of 
torture and abuse contradict initial statements he made after 
his arrival in France, most notably in the November 29 
"Liberation" interview.  In describing the initial reaction 
by U.S. soldiers who discovered him in an abandoned home in 
Fallujah, al-Joundi asserted, "we were a bit mistreated but I 
was happy.  I would have readily given them one million 
dollars for having saved my life."  In the same interview, 
al-Joundi described a U.S. captain as congratulating him on 
his liberation after a U.S. soldier had interrogated him "a 
bit harshly" for one hour.  Al-Joundi added that U.S. 
officials had provided him with medical treatment, cigarettes 
and food -- hardly a description of war crimes.  End comment. 
 
7. (U) Baghdad minimize considered. 
Leach