US embassy cable - 05MANAMA880

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 000880 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, S/WCI 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2015 
TAGS: KAWC, PTER, PREL, BA 
SUBJECT: VISIT OF AMERICAN LAWYERS STIRS UP GTMO ISSUE 
 
REF: A. STATE 97796 
 
     B. MANAMA 621 
 
Classified by Ambassador William T. Monroe for reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (U) This is an action message -- see para 8. 
 
2.  (C) Summary:  Two Amcit attorneys from law firm Dorsey 
and Whitney, which represents on a pro bono basis the six 
Bahraini detainees at Guantanamo, visited Bahrain June 13-15 
to meet with family members, MPs, activists, and government 
officials.  The lawyers urged the GOB to be more forceful in 
using diplomatic channels to press for the release or return 
of the six.  The lower house of parliament held a special 
session on GTMO June 14, and a prominent MP complained of 
mistreatment of the detainees and asked that the government 
work harder for their return.  Minister of State for Foreign 
Affairs Abdul Ghaffar, speaking at parliament, insisted the 
government was doing its best and noted that the USG had 
refused a Bahraini offer to form a joint committee on the 
detainees.  The Embassy could help to set the record straight 
if Washington agencies provided information that could be 
used publicly to push back on the point that the six Bahraini 
detainees are innocent and wrongly held. End Summary. 
 
3.  (U) Amcit attorneys Mark Sullivan and Joshua 
Colangelo-Bryan from law firm Dorsey and Whitney visited 
Bahrain June 13-15 and met with family members of the six 
Bahraini detainees in Guantanamo, members of parliament, NGO 
representatives, human rights activists, and government 
officials.  Dorsey and Whitney has represented the Bahraini 
detainees on a pro bono basis for two years and 
Colangelo-Bryan has visited GTMO twice in the past year.  The 
visit was the first time the lawyers met with family members 
and officials. 
 
4.  (C) During a June 13 press conference, the attorneys 
urged the GOB to use diplomatic channels to press for the 
release of the detainees.  Colangelo-Bryan said the long-term 
viability of the GTMO detention center was being openly 
questioned in the U.S., and the present time represents the 
best opportunity for the GOB to get the detainees returned to 
Bahrain.  Sullivan and Colangelo-Bryan told the press June 15 
that they had held "breakthrough talks" with Bahraini 
authorities, led by MFA Assistant Under Secretary for 
Coordination and Follow Up Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al 
Khalifa, on the way forward in handling the detainee 
situation.  The MFA reportedly agreed to take the lawyers' 
suggestion of pushing harder for the detainees' release 
through diplomatic channels.  Colangelo-Bryan told the press, 
"We urged them to negotiate with the U.S. for the release of 
the detainees, on the condition that they will be held in 
custody for investigation here in Bahrain, and they were very 
receptive."  (Note:  Shaikh Abdul Aziz did not raise the 
issue during a June 19 meeting with Pol/Econ chief on other 
subjects.) 
 
5.  (U) The Council of Representatives (COR - lower house of 
parliament) held a special session on GTMO June 14.  Head of 
the Al Asala (Salafi) bloc Adel Al Moawada complained of 
detainees being "treated like animals" and asked why no 
Bahraini detainees have been returned when Bahrain is such a 
staunch ally of the United States.  Al Moawada claimed there 
was no evidence linking the Bahrainis to Al Qaeda. 
 
6.  (C) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs/Information 
Minister Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar told the COR that the GOB 
held regular meetings with the American Ambassador and U.S. 
officials on behalf of the detainees.  He continued that the 
government was "doing its best" and had asked the USG to free 
the Bahrainis "because everyone knows they are innocent." 
Abdul Ghaffar said that the GOB's request to form a joint 
committee on the detainees had been refused by the U.S.  The 
press subsequently reported that the GOB had sent a 
diplomatic note to the USG expressing Bahrain's readiness to 
receive the detainees.  The note also indicated Bahrain's 
willingness to take them to the public prosecutor's office 
for investigation and trial and, if convicted, to imprison 
them.  GOB sources told the press that the USG had refused 
the proposal.  (Comment:  This is accurate; see reftels.) 
 
7.  (C) Comment: The GOB has been very cautious about pushing 
us on the issue of the detainees, perhaps because it prefers 
not to have to take possession of and responsibility for the 
six detainees.  Although we might expect stronger approaches 
based upon the press readout of the meeting between the 
American lawyers and Bahraini officials, Shaikh Abdul Aziz 
chose not to raise the issue in the first opportunity he had 
since the visit.  Bahraini press coverage and the remarks of 
parliamentarians repeatedly stress the innocence of the six. 
Unfortunately, it has become the common and accepted 
perception here that the Bahraini detainees are in fact 
innocent.  Concurrent press reports of detainee abuse at 
Guantanamo add to the perception that Bahrain is being 
treated unfairly by its American ally. 
 
8.  (C) Action request: By not commenting directly on the 
detainees, we have in effect ceded the ground to the lawyers, 
family members, politicians and other critics of the 
detention of the six Bahrainis at Guantanamo.  The Embassy 
would appreciate consideration of points that could be used 
publicly in Bahrain to push back on the point that the 
detainees are innocent and wrongly held. 
 
MONROE