VZCZCXRO5083
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHLB #0304/01 0331738
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 021738Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1794
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0132
RUCNFB/FBI WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000304 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WERNER/SINGH 
AMMAN AND BERLIN FOR LEGATT 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/02/2016 
TAGS: LE PGOV PREL PTER KCRM
SUBJECT: MGLE01:  REQUEST MADE TO GOL FOR EXPULSION OF 
TERRORISTS HAMADEI, IZZ-AL-DIN, ATWA, MUGHNIYAH 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 12817 
     ¶B. BEIRUT 00286 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.  Reason:  Section 1.4 (d). 
 
SUMMARY 
 ------- 
 
¶1.  (C)  In accordance with ref (A), Ambassador delivered 
talking points and associated documentation to support the 
USG demand that Lebanon expel, or otherwise deliver into US 
custody, the four terrorists complicit in the hijacking of 
TWA 847: Mohammod Ali Hamadei, Hasan Izz-al-Din, Ali Atwa, 
and Imad Mughniyah.  On February 1, the Ambassador explained 
the request and its political implications to Prime Minister 
Fouad Siniora.  On February 2, the Ambassador met with both 
Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and Minister of Justice 
Charles Rizk to explain the seriousness with which USG views 
this request and delivered the supporting legal documents, 
which provided legal justification for the requested action. 
PM Siniora acknowledged the import of the situation and 
promised that his government would do all it could under 
Lebanese law.  Justice Minister Rizk went further and 
personally instructed senior appellate judge Chukri Sader to 
determine if there was a legal way to comply with our 
request.  Foreign Minister Salloukh, who is one of the five 
Shia ministers currently boycotting the Siniora cabinet, had 
a much cooler response, saying his ministry would study the 
"technicalities" of the request.  End summary. 
 
PRIME MINISTER SINIORA 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (C)  As reported in ref (b), the Ambassador met with 
Prime Minister Siniora at the Serail Palace on February 1. 
Despite the continuing crisis over the withdrawal of several 
Shia ministers from the cabinet, the discussion of the USG 
request dealing with fugitives Mohammod Ali Hamadei, Hasan 
Izz-al-Din, Ali Atwa, and Imad Mughniyah took precedence over 
all other issues.  Siniora listened carefully to the felony 
charges that have been filed by the U.S. Department of 
Justice, as well as the arguments delivered by the Ambassador 
to counter GOL's previously stated claim that the cases 
involve double jeopardy.  The prime minister, accompanied by 
his senior advisor Mohammad Chatta, who when he served as 
Lebanon's ambassador to the U.S. had received the mother of 
Robert Stethem and strongly identified with her loss, 
explained to the Ambassador that his government would do what 
it could to comply with the U.S. request, but it was critical 
that Lebanese law be respected.  Siniora asked for USG 
understanding of the political reality of Lebanon at this 
time.  He stated his belief that Syrian President Bashar 
Asad, and the radical elements in Hizballah and the 
Palestinian rejectionist groups, would like nothing better 
than for the Hamadei situation to damage relations between 
the U.S. and the reformist Siniora government.  When he 
learned that the Ministers of Justice and Foreign Minister 
would shortly be receiving USDOJ documentation supporting the 
request, Siniora promised the Ambassador he would personally 
track the handling of the file and ensure a comprehensive 
official response as soon as practicable. 
 
MINISTER OF JUSTICE 
------------------- 
 
¶3.  (C)  The Ambassador met with Minister of Justice Charles 
Rizk at his Ministry the following day, February 2.  Upon 
presentation of the U.S. argument for the expulsion of the 
fugitives from Lebanon, Minister Rizk called in Chukri Sader, 
a senior judge serving at the appellate level in Lebanon's 
judiciary, and a respected former prosecutor.  He explained 
the situation and asked Sader to carefully examine not only 
Lebanese law, but also all international anti-terrorism and 
anti-hijacking conventions that have been signed by Lebanon, 
to see whether the GOL could comply with the USG request. 
Rizk told the Ambassador that he remembered well the images 
of the day that TWA 847 stood on the tarmac of Beirut 
International Airport.  He assured the Ambassador that he 
would diligently pursue the request and coordinate the 
government response.  However, Rizk also reminded the 
Ambassador that critical political factors were involved, 
specifically the protection being provided by Hizballah to 
the felons. 
 
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS 
--------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (C)  A corresponding meeting with Foreign Minister Fawzi 
Salloukh, also on February 2, was contentious.  Minister 
Salloukh repeatedly interjected extraneous issues into the 
Ambassador's presentation of the facts, ranging from the 
injustices of the civil war to his interpretation of legal 
concepts.  Salloukh, who to a measurable degree owes his 
position to support from Hizballah leader Hassan Nasrallah, 
displayed increasing irritability as the Ambassador made the 
USG case.  He demanded that the Ambassador remember the 
"situation in Lebanon at that time...when thousands of 
Lebanese received the same treatment." 
 
¶5.  (C)  Ignoring that only one of the fugitive felons had 
ever appeared in court, Salloukh insisted that "justice had 
been rendered" by the judicial system of Germany and to ask 
Lebanon to do more was not reasonable.  The minister also 
turned away arguments that Lebanon should fulfill its 
responsibilities under applicable anti-terrorism conventions 
to which it is a party by arguing that domestic law must 
always take precedence. 
 
¶6.  (C)  At the conclusion of a lengthy exchange that 
centered on the sanctity of Lebanese law, Salloukh 
acknowledged the seriousness of the charges and promised to 
study the "technicalities" of the USG request and the 
accompanying documentation.  The minister finished the 
discussion by saying he respected the letter from the 
Secretary and promised that the request would be "treated 
seriously." 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7.  (C)  Given the Lebanese legal system (which includes 
guarantees against extraditing Lebanese citizens) as well as 
the political realities of Siniora's problems with the Shia 
(the community from which all four fugitive felons derive), 
we need to keep our expectations low.  Nevertheless, both 
Siniora and Rizk took our demarche seriously.  They conveyed 
both by words and body language their understanding of the 
importance and sensitivity of this issue to us.  We expect 
that we will get a substantive response, and we will continue 
to press the case with them.  While the MFA is the official 
channel for such requests, we do not expect any constructive 
comments from Salloukh. 
FELTMAN