US embassy cable - 03HARARE484

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000484 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/07/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ZI 
SUBJECT: TSVANGIRAI TRIAL: BEN-MENASHE STILL UNDER CROSS 
EXAMINATION 
 
REF: A. HARARE 360 
 
     B. HARARE 313 
     C. HARARE 259 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER KIMBERLY JEMISON FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) A 
ND (D) 
 
Summary.  1.  (C) The treason trial of Movement for 
Democratic Change 
(MDC) officials Morgan Tsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, and Renson 
Gasela resumed on March 3, after a one-week recess. 
Cross-examination of the state,s star witness, Ari 
Ben-Menashe, entered its seventeenth day on March 7.  Court 
time was divided between questioning Ben-Menashe about 
portions of the infamous videotape and dealing with 
Ben-Menashe,s conduct.  The judge and the lawyers were 
visibly tired of Ben-Menashe and the slow pace of the trial, 
and the judge even met with the attorneys on more than one 
occasion to discuss ways to speed it up.  End summary. 
 
Bizos Picks Apart Videotape 
--------------------------- 
 
2. (U) Lead defense attorney George Bizos resumed his 
cross-examination on March 3, after a one-week recess granted 
at the behest of Ari Ben-Menashe.  Bizos, questioning 
focused on pointing out irregularities between Ben-Menashe,s 
testimony and the videotape and on showing the court how 
Ben-Menashe and his associates tried to entrap Tsvangirai, 
Ncube, and Gasela.   Bizos made it very clear that Tsvangirai 
used the word "eliminate" only once, and only after ABM had 
used it over and over again. 
 
3.  (U) Bizos asked Ben-Menashe to decipher the conversation 
between him, his business partner Alexander Legault, and 
purported CIA Deputy Director Simms when Tsvangirai and 
Johnson left the room at one point during their December 2001 
meeting in Montreal.  Bizos also questioned Ben-Menashe about 
passages in which Ben-Menashe pretended to be on 
Tsvangirai,s side for the purposes of entrapment. 
 
SIPDIS 
Ben-Menashe reiterated previous claims that Tsvangirai had 
wanted Dickens and Madson to secure the CIA's help in 
assassinating Mugabe.  He also claimed that, for the first 
time during the trial and without any corroboration from the 
videotape, Tsvangirai also planned to kill some of Mugabe's 
ministers. 
 
 
Ben-Menashe Wasting Court,s Time 
-------------------------------- 
 
4.  (U) The court has spent an inordinate amount of time 
arguing over Ben-Menashe,s compliance with court orders and 
dealing with his over-the-top behavior. Before the recess, 
Ben-Menashe was ordered to produce several documents 
including a certificate of registration and financial data 
for Dickens and Madsen (see reftel A).  On March 3, Bizos 
questioned Ben-Menashe about these documents and pressed the 
court to find Ben-Menashe in noncompliance of the court order 
to produce these items.  On the morning of March 4, Presiding 
Judge Paddington Garwe deliberated for more than an hour on 
whether the documents Ben-Menashe provided complied with the 
court order.  At the end of the deliberations, Garwe decided 
Ben-Menashe should explain what was produced and why some 
things were missing.  During the afternoon, Bizos argued once 
more how Ben-Menashe was not in compliance. 
 
5.  (U) Court proceedings were held up several times because 
of Ben-Menashe,s conduct.  On the afternoon of March 5, 
court adjourned half an hour early (before 16h00) as a result 
of Ben-Menashe,s comments about Morgan Tsvangirai.  During 
the cross-examination, Ben-Menashe insulted Tsvangirai by 
saying "The future president of Zimbabwe is nuts."  Bizos 
told the court that he would sit down until the court 
addressed the matter.  Garwe cautioned Ben-Menashe to watch 
his language, reminding him that they had been through this 
before.  Ben-Menashe then apologized, after which Bizos asked 
if the apology were extended to his client.  Ben-Menashe 
replied no and Bizos insisted that an apology be extended to 
his client forthwith.  Garwe looked at his watch and declared 
that court would adjourn until the following morning. 
 
6.  (U) The March 6 morning session opened with Garwe 
strongly castigating Ben-Menashe.  He made the following 
points: 
 
--despite numerous warnings, the state's witness continues to 
use inappropriate and insulting language; 
--in a court of law virtually everywhere in the world, 
certain rules of decorum must be observed; 
--lawyers are expected to behave according to the ethics of 
their profession; 
--when a witness derides the accused, it is not acceptable 
and contemptuous of the proceedings; 
--I hope this final warning will suffice and be taken 
seriously. 
Despite this castigation, Garwe had to instruct Ben-Menashe 
during the afternoon session on March 6 not to call the 
accused criminals but to refer to them as the accused. 
 
7.  (U) Court was held up again for half an hour during the 
afternoon session on March 6 when Ben-Menashe asked the judge 
to dismiss him from the stand and allow him to return to 
Canada, claiming abuse from both the defense and the state. 
Ben-Menashe argued that the state had a vested interest in 
his being on the stand and that the defense was trying to win 
through a technicality and that was why he had been 
questioned for several weeks.  Ben-Menashe also complained 
about having to answer questions repeatedly and accused the 
defense of prolonging the trial. 
 
8.  (U) Bizos emphatically rejected the suggestion that he 
was responsible for the protracted trial and cited examples 
where catering to Ben-Menashe had delayed the proceedings. 
Deputy Attorney General Patel also rejected the suggestion 
that he was trying to drag the trial out, citing examples 
when he had objected to the defense,s line of questioning. 
Garwe said he would make a ruling on the petition March 7, 
but that Ben-Menashe would testify through the day. 
 
Interest Dwindling and Patience Thin 
------------------------------------ 
9. (U) The week saw a marked decrease in the number of 
visitors in the courtroom.  The lower gallery was between 
half and three quarters full.  The upper gallery was 
relatively empty before the recess.  The press area has been 
partially full with at least two-thirds occupancy.  In 
addition to dwindling interest, the two weeks of rain and 
exasperation with Ben-Menashe could also factor into the 
reduced participation. 
 
10. (U) Garwe is clearly getting fed up with Ben-Menashe (and 
the slow pace of the trial), but still stopped short of 
spelling out the consequences of inappropriate behavior.  He 
has tried to speed up the trial by discussing--so far, 
without success--ways to do so with opposing attorneys in 
chambers. 
 
Comment 
-------------- 
 
9.  (C) The judge and lawyers are visibly tired of dealing 
with Ben-Menashe and the slow pace of the trial.  Both Bizos 
and Patel sigh loudly and show other signs of exasperation 
when Ben-Menashe goes off on a tangent, as he does in his 
responses to virtually every question.  Earlier in the week, 
defense counsel thought they would have completed the 
cross-examination by March 5 but given the constant 
interruptions and lack of cooperation by Ben-Menashe and 
Garwe,s lack of control over the witness, the 
cross-examination could go on for another week.  End comment. 
 
SULLIVAN