US embassy cable - 05CAIRO4873

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 004873 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PHUM, CASC, EG 
SUBJECT: VISIT TO PRISONER NABIL SOLIMAN 
 
REF: A. CAIRO 2089 
     B. 04 CAIRO 9247 
     C. 04 CAIRO 4548 
     D. 03 CAIRO 2300 
     E. 02 CAIRO 12748 
     F. 02 CAIRO 9902 
     G. 02 CAIRO 8561 
     H. 02 STATE 165084 
     I. 02 CAIRO 6152 
 
Classified by A/DCM Michael Corbin for reasons 1.4 (b) and 
(d). 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Emboffs visited Nabil Soliman on June 23, an Egyptian 
citizen returned by the U.S. to Egypt in June 2002 and 
subsequently convicted of membership in Egyptian Islamic 
Jihad and sentenced to five years imprisonment.  Soliman 
affirmed that he was being humanely treated and appeared 
generally fit, but complained of elevated blood pressure and 
related symptoms.  Soliman was focused on his legal case, 
complaining that he was being forced to serve a five year 
sentence in Egypt on top of the five years he had served in 
the U.S. while being detained on immigration charges and 
asserted that this was tantamount to "double jeopardy."  He 
entreated the USG to encourage the GOE to release him upon 
completion of 3/4 of his sentence, which by his count, will 
come in March 2006.  Soliman also repeated his previous 
request for a "welfare and whereabouts" check on his two 
AMCIT children, whom he believes are with his estranged wife 
in the U.S.  End summary. 
 
2. (C) On June 23, poloff and A/LEGATT visited Nabil Soliman 
at Torah Prison, just south of Cairo. Soliman was returned by 
the United States to Egypt in June, 2002 (ref I) and was 
subsequently convicted, by a State Security Court in February 
2003, of membership in an illegal organization (the Egyptian 
Islamic Jihad).  He is currently serving a  five year 
sentence.  The visit was the eighth conducted by the Embassy 
(reftels), in keeping with the U.S. agreement with the GOE to 
monitor Soliman's treatment after his return. 
 
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Treatment 
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3. (C) Per established routine, the meeting with Soliman took 
place in the prison warden's office, in the presence of 
prison officials and a monitor from Egyptian State Security. 
Soliman appeared reasonably fit and affirmed that he was 
receiving adequate nutrition and was not being subjected to 
ill treatment by authorities.  Soliman's demeanor and body 
language appeared consistent with his claims.  Soliman noted 
that he supplemented his diet with meat and other provisions 
provided by his brother Wael, who visits every two weeks. 
Food supplied by prison, mainly bread, fava beans, eggs, and 
chicken once a week, was not adequate, he opined. 
 
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Health 
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4. (SBU) Soliman advised poloff and A/LEGAT that he had been 
suffering from elevated blood pressure.  His most recent 
reading was 150/95.  He was experiencing shortness of breath 
and general fatigue and said that he had been advised by a 
prison physician that he should supplement his diet with 
multivitamins, but added that they were too expensive for his 
brother to supply.  Poloff agreed look into whether the 
Embassy could send multivitamins to Soliman. 
 
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Legal Case, Release Prognosis 
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5. (C) As in previous visits (reftels), Soliman was most 
interested in discussing his legal case and the possibility 
of a release upon completion of 3/4 of his five year 
sentence.  Soliman asserted that he had been subjected to 
"double jeopardy," having served almost five years in U.S. 
immigration detention facilities before his removal and 
return to Egypt.  Soliman repeated a claim he has made 
earlier, including in letters to Secretaries Powell and Rice 
(refs A and D), that the INS has suppressed a judicial order 
for his release as it continued to work with other agencies 
in preparing his removal to Egypt. 
 
6. (C) Soliman asserted that the USG bore "moral 
responsibility" for the "injustice" of his case and should 
now compensate by intervening with the GOE to encourage his 
release upon completion of 3/4 of his sentence.  (Note:  Many 
Egyptian prisoners are approved for release upon completion 
of 3/4 of their sentence.  This release, granted by a parole 
board, is discretionary, not automatic.  End note.)  By 
Soliman's count, he will have served 3/4 of his sentence by 
March, 2006 although he complained that the GOE had started 
the "clock ticking" on his time served in prison in September 
2002, three months after his return from the U.S. 
 
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Family Welfare/Whereabouts 
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7. (SBU) Soliman also raised his continuing concerns about 
the welfare and whereabouts of his children, including AMCITS 
Ibrahim Nabil Soliman (DPOB 5/10/1995, New Jersey) and Yasser 
Nabil Soliman (DPOB 1/28/1997, North Carolina) whom he 
believed were resident with estranged wife Fatima Abdullah 
Ismail (DPOB 1/20/1963, Egypt), somewhere in the U.S. - 
possibly in the state of New Jersey.  Soliman asserted that 
he just wanted someone in the USG to locate his children, 
confirm that they were safe and healthy, and report this back 
to him.  Post is exploring options for accommodating 
Soliman's request. 
 
8. (SBU) (Note: Soliman's request for w/w checks on his AMCIT 
children is not new.  Even before his 2002 removal from the 
United States, Soliman had been in contact with CA/OCS and 
originally believed that his children had been taken by his 
estranged wife to the U.K.  CA/OCS confirmed the U.S. 
citizenship of Ibrahim and Yasser and worked with Embassy 
London on w/w checks in the U.K., which did not lead to new 
information (ref H).  Soliman later advised poloff that 
inquiries made by his family suggested that the children were 
in the U.S. (ref B).  End note.) 
 
 
Visit Embassy Cairo's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/cairo 
 
You can also access this site through the 
State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. 
 
CORBIN