VZCZCXYZ0027
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #1235 1702017
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 192017Z JUN 06
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9376
INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS IMMEDIATE 1122
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE

S E C R E T USUN NEW YORK 001235 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2016 
TAGS: ETTC KTFN EFIN UNSC PREL PGOV BE
SUBJECT: 1267 COMMITTEE: BELGIAN DE-LISTING REQUEST 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor William Brencick, 
for Reasons 1.4 (B and D) 
 
¶1. (U) This is an Action Request.  Please see Para 7. 
 
¶2. (C) SUMMARY: The Belgian Mission recently provided more 
information to USUN about the background of two individuals 
for whom Belgium has requested de-listing from the 1267 
(al-Qaida/Taliban) Committee's sanctions list.  The 
information was provided as a follow-up to a May 26 meeting 
between Belgian PermRep Verbeke and Ambassador Wolff, where 
Verbeke pressed the U.S. to agree to de-list the two Belgian 
citizens.  Belgian Mission Counselor Marc Pecsteen 
subsequently met with USUN on June 9 to explain the 
de-listing request for Nabil Sayadi and Patricia Vinck. 
Pecsteen acknowledged that Brussels has reviewed documents 
that show a link between Sayadi/Vinck and known terrorists. 
While Pecsteen acknowledged that Sayadi and Vinck did have 
terrorist ties, he emphasized that Belgian courts found 
insufficient evidence to convict them of any crime.  In 
response to Pecsteen's presentation, USUN underlined the 
distinction between a criminal process, which relies on one 
set of evidentiary standards, and a sanctions process, which 
is political rather than judicial in nature, and relies on 
another set of criteria.  USUN pledged to send the additional 
information to Washington for review.  END SUMMARY. 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶3. (C) During a May 26 meeting, Belgian PermRep Verbeke met 
with Amb Wolff to press the U.S. to agree to de-list two 
Belgian citizens currently under sanctions in the 1267 
Committee.  Amb Wolff told Verbeke he would convey the 
Belgian request  to Washington.  As a follow-up to that 
meeting, Belgian Mission Counselor Marc Pecsteen met with 
USUN on June 9 to provide additional information on Nabil 
Sayadi and Patricia Vinck.  Following their designations in 
2003, Sayadi and Vinck sued the Belgian Government and 
demanded that Brussels request their de-listing.  A Belgian 
court ruled in the listed individuals' favor and instructed 
the government to forward a de-listing petition to the 1267 
Committee, which was done in March 2005.  In the request, the 
Belgian government made clear that it was responding to the 
court's instruction and did not explicitly support the 
court's findings.  The United States, the UK, France, and 
Denmark all placed holds on the request. 
 
¶4. (C) On April 4, 2006, the Belgians sent a new letter to 
the Committee regarding their de-listing request, in which 
they reported that a government investigation had concluded 
that the two individuals should be de-listed.  However, in 
the same letter, the Belgians admitted that they possessed 
documents showing a link between Sayadi, Vinck, and known 
terrorists.  When the Committee next met and discussed this 
most recent letter, Denmark, France, the UK, and USUN all 
underlined the need to learn more about Belgium's finding 
that the individuals may have continued ties to terrorism. 
 
TERRORIST LINKS 
--------------- 
 
¶5. (S) In a June 9 meeting, Pecsteen presented additional 
information to USUN about Sayadi's and Vinck's terrorist 
ties.  According to court documents, which Pecsteen could 
show to USUN but not hand over, two known al-Qaida 
financiers, Darkanzali and Galeb Kalaje Zouaydi, helped 
Sayadi raise money for his branch of the Global Relief 
organization (NOTE: The 1267 Committee designated Global 
Relief as an entity associated with al-Qaida.  END NOTE). 
Darkanzali, living in Germany, and Zouaydi, living in Spain, 
allegedly had a close and continuing relationship with 
Sayadi.  According to the court documents, Sayadi also had 
some type of relationship with Rabbih Haddad from Global 
Relief, and Tarek Krayem, who was Sayadi's employer.  Sayadi 
also met (three or four times) with Imad Eddin Barakat 
Yarkas, currently living in Spain. 
 
¶6. (C) Despite the links to known terrorists, Pecsteen 
emphasized that there is no indication Sayadi ever 
participated in any action connected to terrorism.  Moreover, 
Pecsteen argued that the Belgian branch of Global Relief was 
proven to be a genuinely humanitarian organization. 
 
¶7. (C) ACTION REQUEST: USUN requests Department guidance on 
the additional information provided by the Belgian Mission 
and any review of the Belgian de-listing request. 
BOLTON