US embassy cable - 05PARIS2448

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PARIS 002448 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC, CJAN, SNAR, FR 
SUBJECT: IMPROVING CONSULAR NOTIFICATION FOR DRUG 
TRAFFICKING ARRESTS 
 
Refs: (A) 2005 International Narcotics Strategy Control 
Report, (B) 01 STATE 10160, (C) 04 PARIS 5995 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
1. Summary.  Drug trafficking violations continue to account 
for more than 75 percent of AmCit arrests in France despite 
a general decline in detentions of our citizens.  While 
undertaking to improve our understanding of arrest, 
sentencing and detention procedures in France, post's 
consular section concluded it was equally important to 
address the issue of prompt notification to the Embassy of 
detained drug trafficking suspects.  In the following 
overview, post reports on the specific GOF procedures 
related to drug trafficking arrests that will help us better 
address inquiries from prisoners and other sources. 
Paragraphs 2 through 15 provide an up-to-date resource of 
French judicial procedures concerning drug trafficking.  In 
paragraph 16, we describe our efforts to receive more timely 
notification through implementation of an "Action Plan". 
The "Action Plan" specifically describes measures we are 
taking to establish and strengthen contacts with GOF law 
enforcement agencies.  Through the improved channel of 
communication, we hope gain clarification on their 
implementation of the Vienna Convention on Consular 
Relations of 1963 (VCCR) and the 1966 Franco-American 
Bilateral Consular Convention (BCC).  End summary. 
 
----------------- 
ARREST PROCEDURES 
----------------- 
 
2.  Customs or drug enforcement authorities typically 
initiate a drug trafficking arrest in France.  French law 
enforcement also works frequently in cooperation with 
Interpol, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), or 
other foreign drug enforcement agencies to combat 
international drug trafficking networks.  Most AmCit drug 
trafficking suspects are apprehended at Charles De Gaulle 
airport in Paris.  Other arrests are made at seaports in 
southern France, at sea by French Coast Guard or by traffic 
stops and checkpoints initiated by French Customs on major 
road and rail trafficking corridors-- notably Belgium, Spain 
and Great Britain (Ref A). By law, French law enforcement 
authorities must inform a detainee of the reason for his 
arrest in a language he understands.  There is however an 
exception provided for French Customs.  Customs is allowed 
to detain individuals without stating any reason or cause 
for up to 24 hours. 
 
3.  Once Customs turns a suspected drug trafficker over to 
drug enforcement authorities, the detainee can be held for 
an additional 96 hours before he must be brought before a 
judge for charges. (Note: For most other crimes, it is 72 
hours.  End note.)  This custody period is called the "Garde 
a Vue."  French law also allows the prosecutor to suspend 
the detainee's right to legal counsel and family 
notification for up to 72 hours during the "Garde a Vue" 
period if he determines that allowing these rights would 
compromise the investigation. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
CONSULAR NOTIFICATION IN THEORY AND PRACTICE 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
4.  Based on our experience, in practice the GOF interprets 
"detention," as indicated in Article 36 of the VCCR and 
Article 34 of the BCC, to be the moment an arrestee is taken 
out of "Garde a Vue" and sent to prison after he is charged 
with a crime.  Since it can take up to five days before this 
occurs, several more days for the prison to process a letter 
notifying us of an AmCit's arrest, and another two or three 
days before we receive the letter, the GOF's notification 
practice exceeds the 72-hour timeframe that is our 
interpretation of "without delay" stated in the VCCR (Ref 
B). Post has in response developed an action plan detailed 
in paragraph 16, to reduce the lag between an alleged drug 
trafficker's detention and our notification by the GOF. 
 
5.  Currently in the vast majority of cases, the DEA 
provides the Embassy with information of an AmCit drug 
trafficking arrest.  In addition, the French police, 
prisons, and courts will give us an official notification 
about a third of the time.  On very rare occasions, the 
prisoner's friends or family will inform post of the arrest. 
 
6.  Post receives arrest information from the DEA via 
"L'Office Central pour la Repression du Trafic Illicite de 
Stupefiants" (Central Office for Suppression of Illegal Drug 
Trafficking), the French drug enforcement agency commonly 
referred to as OCRTIS.  The DEA and OCRTIS work very closely 
together by sharing intelligence and coordinating operations 
in France and internationally (Ref A).  French police or 
Customs notify OCRTIS immediately whenever an AmCit drug 
trafficking suspect is detained.  OCRTIS then contacts the 
DEA to verify whether the AmCit detainee is wanted on any 
charges in the US and to coordinate the conduct of the 
interrogation.  The DEA in turn typically contacts post's 
consular section.  In these cases, even though it is not an 
official notification, post receives prompt information 
about the AmCit's detention thanks to DEA's special working 
relationship with OCRTIS. 
 
------------------------------------- 
INTERROGATION AND PRE-TRIAL DETENTION 
------------------------------------- 
 
7.  OCRTIS interrogates prisoners during the "Garde a Vue" 
period.  During the interrogation, an AmCit drug trafficking 
suspect is commonly offered the opportunity to cooperate 
with OCRTIS and the DEA.  If the suspect provides useful 
information, his sentence will typically be cut in half. 
Suspected traffickers who choose not to cooperate do so most 
often because they fear retaliation from drug cartels to 
themselves or their families.  A prisoner should not expect 
to go to trial any sooner because of his cooperation since 
there is currently no judicial "fast track" mechanism for 
alleged drug traffickers in the French justice system. 
 
8.  After a prisoner is taken out of "Garde a Vue" and 
brought before a judge, he will either be charged with a 
crime or released.  If charged, the case is turned over to 
an Investigating Magistrate or "Juge d'Instruction."  At 
this point, according to French law a foreign prisoner must 
be assigned an interpreter if he does not understand French. 
A Detention Magistrate or "Juge de la Detention" will 
oversee a detainee's transfer to jail pending the 
investigation and trial.  French law does not allow bail for 
prisoners pending trial for drug trafficking charges meaning 
that they will remain in custody until their trial date. 
 
9.  AmCit prisoners arrested for drug trafficking go to 
trial on average 14-20 months after their arrest.  Prisoners 
should anticipate at least a yearlong wait and as with all 
AmCit prisoners in France, expect very little information 
regarding the status of an eventual trial date.  Accused 
drug traffickers may not plead guilty to receive an 
immediate sentence.  However, France has recently 
implemented an instrument to plead guilty for misdemeanor 
crimes that may eventually be broadened to such felonies as 
drug trafficking.  The idea is to ease the severe backlog of 
prisoners awaiting trial, meaning that it could also 
eventually help bring to trial more quickly even those who 
choose not to plead guilty. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
SENTENCING, DETENTION AND EARLY RELEASE 
--------------------------------------- 
 
10.  The maximum sentence possible for drug trafficking is 
20 years.  Though drug trafficking sentences in France will 
depend on such circumstances as type and quantity of drugs, 
cooperation, function in the trafficking organization and 
history of trafficking, the average sentence in 25 drug 
related cases at post dating back to 1996 was four years. 
The minimum and maximum sentences were respectively one and 
18 years. 
 
11.  An Executive Sentencing Magistrate or "Juge 
d'Application des Peines" handles early release and 
probation issues.  Once a prisoner has served half of his 
sentence, he may appear before a parole board or "Commission 
d'Application des Peines" to have his case reviewed for 
early release.  The commission takes into account such 
factors as behavior, learning French, working, job offers 
and places to stay upon release.  In 22 drug related cases 
dating back to 1996, prisoners served on average less than 
60 percent of their sentences. 
 
12.  Convicted drug traffickers who gain early release are 
also subject to heavy customs' fines relative to the value 
of the drugs they were trafficking.  Their release may be 
delayed because of this.  The fines can be negotiated 
downward or the prisoner may not have to pay at all if he 
can prove total destitution.  Customs has the final say on 
this and the prisoner may have to serve up to an additional 
two years if he does not or cannot pay. 
 
13.  Upon release, an AmCit prisoner is deported to his last 
verified US residence or the nearest port of entry if he is 
not a French resident or national.  Certain exceptions are 
made for drug traffickers who have cooperated with 
authorities and whose lives would be in danger if they 
returned to the US. 
------------------------------------- 
SECOND PROSECUTIONS UPON REPATRIATION 
------------------------------------- 
14.  An AmCit arrested and tried in France for drug 
trafficking may be prosecuted upon his return to the United 
States if he has also violated any US laws.  This is most 
common for prisoners who have not cooperated with the DEA 
and OCRTIS.  DEA and OCRTIS interrogators often use the 
threat of a second prosecution and sentence as a "hammer" to 
help get cooperation from suspected drug traffickers. 
 
15.  Cooperation does not guarantee immunity from eventual 
prosecution in the US.  This is handled on a case-by-case 
basis and depends on the information provided.  Prisoners 
are not tried upon repatriation from France if their crime 
has no venue in the US. 
 
-------------- 
PLAN OF ACTION 
-------------- 
 
16.  Post previously reported on its efforts to receive more 
regular notification from French prisons (Ref C).  The 
results of these efforts have been successful in that we 
have not had any further problems with the specific prisons 
with which we have raised this issue.  Yet because 
notification by prisons inevitably takes longer than 72 
hours from the moment an AmCit is detained, post is now 
examining the process by which the GOF implements the VCCR 
and our BCC.  In an effort to receive better notification 
without delay, post has developed the following action plan, 
which we present to the Department for its information: 
 
- Consular officers will meet with their working-level 
contacts in the Foreign Ministry, the Interior Ministry, and 
the Justice Department to determine the GOF's legal 
interpretation of "detention" and "without delay" as stated 
in the VCCR and BCC.  Specifically, post will attempt to 
learn whether customs detentions and "Garde a Vue" fall into 
the GOF's interpretation of "detention" and how long they 
give themselves to notify us of an AmCit arrest "without 
delay". 
 
- After learning the GOF's interpretation of the VCCR, post 
will investigate how the GOF instructs its law enforcements 
agencies to implement the interpretation.  We will then take 
specific actions based on what we learn.  For example, if 
there is no GOF directive instructing law enforcement 
agencies and prisons on how to implement the convention, we 
will seek to have the GOF create one.  If there is a GOF 
directive that law enforcement agencies and prisons are not 
properly adhering to, we will work with the GOF and the 
specific agencies to ensure proper implementation in the 
case of AmCit arrests. 
 
- Specifically regarding drug trafficking arrests, the 
OCRTIS chief of operations expressed in a meeting with 
conoff that he agreed that the meaning of "detention" in the 
VCCR included the "Garde a Vue" period.  However, he did not 
wish to receive a directive from the GOF stipulating arrest 
notification procedures to all VCCR signatories during the 
"Garde a Vue" period.  We suggested a simple arrangement 
could be for OCRTIS to provide consular notification through 
a simple phone call directly to the consular section to 
supplement the arrest information we receive through the 
DEA.  We will meet with OCRTIS again to follow up on this 
possible arrangement and reinforce our contact with them. 
 
- Post will also schedule meetings with Customs officials to 
explore circumstances where they could provide consular 
notification of detained AmCits.  We will suggest an 
arrangement where they could contact us upon an AmCits 
detention to verify his citizenship in an effort to further 
combat passport fraud and provide us the quickest 
notification possible of AmCit detention. 
 
LEACH