VZCZCXRO9320
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV
DE RUEHDM #5378/01 3411654
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071654Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2586
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0263
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0194
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DAMASCUS 005378 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO L/NESA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL CASC ASEC SY
SUBJECT: SYRIANS REFUSE TO DEPORT ACCUSED AMCIT MURDERER 
MUAZ HAFFAR 
 
 
 ¶1.  (U) This is an action request, please see paragraph 5. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Syrian MFA notified us by a dipnote (text 
included below) received December 2 that the SARG has 
rejected our request to deport Amcit accused murderer Muaz 
Haffar (AKA to the Syrians as Omar al-Sawwaf).  The dipnote, 
dated November 21, and issued by the Consular Department at 
the MFA, stated that the SARG has decided not to hand over 
Haffar for trial in the United States.  Instead, Syrian 
authorities have decided that he will be tried in a Syrian 
court.  The dipnote stated that the decision "rejecting the 
extradition" of Haffar, was made by the Criminal Extradition 
Committee of the Syrian Ministry of Justice on November 9. 
It stated that this person was a Syrian citizen, wanted by 
judicial authorities in the U.S. for murder, and that there 
is no bilateral agreement (extradition treaty) between the 
SARG and the U.S.  Consequently the SARG is refusing to turn 
Haffar over.  It also noted that the Embassy should inform 
the "petitioning party" to consult with the Syrian court 
which will conduct the trial, and to forward all the relevant 
documents and the legal file to the First Attorney General in 
Damascus, so that the Syrian authorities can proceed against 
Haffar. 
 
¶3.   (SBU) Post received information from working-level 
police contacts that Haffar had been arrested in Syria in 
late October 2006 for some type of suspicious behavior 
unrelated to the murder charges in the U.S.  At that time, 
Post formally requested consular access and Charge separately 
demanded of our designated MFA channel in the Office of 
Protocol that the SARG confirm that it had Haffar in custody 
and respond to our request for consular access.  He also 
noted that the USG wanted the SARG to agree to deliver Haffar 
to the U.S. law enforcement officials for trial in the U.S. 
on the murder charges.   (Note:  We made the initial request 
for the detention and deportation of Haffar in mid-August 
2005, after being notified that he had fled to Syria in late 
July to avoid facing murder charges in Cook County, Illinois. 
 We subsequently received a formal request for the 
extradition of Haffar, which we transmitted the SARG.  We 
note that there is no extradition treaty between Syrian and 
the U.S.) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Although the Syrian dipnote refers to Haffar 
throughout as Omar al-Sawwaf, an MFA official in the Office 
of Protocol, Abdul-Latif al-Sabbagh confirmed to A/DCM that 
the dipnote response was in fact referring to Muaz Haffar. 
He was unable to explain why the SARG was using a different 
name for the accused.  (We presume Haffar, with a claim based 
on his Syrian mother, applied for Syrian citizenship when he 
fled here, and changed his name, possibly using his mother's 
family name, although is unclear from the sparse information 
the SARG has provided us.)  Al-Sabbagh refused to answer 
A/DCM's other inquiries -- whether we would be given consular 
access, how we should proceed with the case, and how the 
Syrians intended to try Haffar -- and requested that the 
Embassy forward by dipnote any further requests for 
clarification or information on the case. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) ACTION REQUESTED:  In order to confront the SARG 
expeditiously on its refusal to cooperate on the Haffar case, 
Post proposes that we quickly respond to the MFA Dip Note, 
requesting an early meeting to 1) express our objections, and 
2) seek clarification on how the SARG plans to proceed.  We 
request Department approval for this course of action and 
provide the following draft language for a dipnote we would 
like to send ASAP. 
 
     PROPOSED TEXT: 
 
-- The Embassy of the United States of America presents its 
compliments to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Syrian 
Arab Republic and has the honor to request the assistance of 
the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic in the matter 
detailed below. 
 
-- The Embassy of the United States acknowledges receipt 
December 1 of the Dipnote from the MFA's Consular 
Directorate, number 64 (90/118) 13323, dated November 21, 
2006, which states that the Syrian government will not turn 
over Syrian citizen Omar al-Sawwaf and instead will try him 
in a Syrian court.  The Embassy received telephonic 
clarification from the MFA on December 6 that the references 
 
DAMASCUS 00005378  002 OF 003 
 
 
to Omar al-Sawwaf in the dipnote are in fact referring to 
American citizen Muaz Haffar.   The Embassy would like to 
remind the Syrian government that Mr. Haffar is an American 
citizen and requests consular access to him pursuant to the 
terms of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular 
Access, to which Syria is a signatory. 
 
--    The Embassy would like to note that it does not 
understand the Syrian government's refusal to turn over 
Haffar to the proper U.S. authorities, since he is an 
American citizen, properly charged in a U.S. court with the 
crime of murder.  Haffar fled to Syria to avoid facing these 
charges.  The Embassy provided the Syrian government with a 
copy of the arrest warrant for Haffar for murder, issued by 
Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, in dipnote 558 of 
August 10, 2005.   The Embassy also requests that the MFA 
Consular Directorate, and the appropriate Ministry of Justice 
representatives, meet with the Embassy's Consul to discuss 
this matter, and in particular to explain how the Syrian 
government plans to proceed in trying Muaz Haffar in a Syrian 
court.  The Embassy would like to obtain clarification about 
what the Syrian government means in its dipnote note of 
November 21 that the petitioning party should consult with 
the Syrian court that will conduct the trial, "in order to 
demand its rights and prove its claims."  The Embassy would 
also like to seek clarification about what the Syrian 
government means in stating that the Embassy should "forward 
all the documents and hand over the file to the First General 
Attorney in Damascus in order to activate the general suit 
against Haffar. 
 
-- The Embassy avails itself of this opportunity to renew to 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic 
the assurance of its highest consideration. 
 
END PROPOSED TEXT OF DIPNOTE. 
 
¶6.  (U) Translated text of the dipnote from the MFA included 
below: 
 
Syrian Arab Republic 
Ministry of Foreign Afffairs 
Consular Directorate 
No. 64 (90-118) 13323 
Date: November 21, 2006 
 
     The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab 
Republic presents its compliments to the Embassy of the 
United States of America and has the honor to furnish the 
Embassy with Decision No. 98, dated November 9, 2006, of the 
Criminal Extradition Committee of the Ministry of Justice, 
which rejects the extradition of Syrian citizen Omar 
al-Sawwaf and decides to try him in a Syrian court. 
     The MFA would be grateful to the esteemed Embassy if it 
advise the petitioning (prosecuting) party to consult the 
court which will conduct the trial, in order to demand its 
rights and prove its claims. 
 
Attached:  The above-mentioned decision 
 
Syrian Arab Republic 
The Ministry of Justice 
No. 731-2006 
Deputy of the Minister 
63 Release 2006 
 
In the name of the Arab people in Syria 
Resolution No. 98-2006 
 
Issued by the Criminal Handover Committee in the Ministry of 
Justice. 
The committee consists of the following Messrs. 
 
¶1.  Samir Bernbo        Assistant to the Minister of Justice 
-- Chairman 
¶2.  Hisham Zaza              Head of the Criminal Court in 
Damascus --Member 
¶3.  Mohamed Marwan Alloji     First Attorney General in 
Damascus -- Member 
¶4.  Samar Kaziha        Report typist 
 
In the wake of reviewing its decision No.-94-2006 which 
includes the confirmation of detaining the Syrian Arab 
 
DAMASCUS 00005378  003 OF 003 
 
 
citizen, Omar Sawaf, his mother,s name is Mayada, born in 
1984 as of October 18, 2006 who is wanted by the judicial 
authorities in the United States of America for committing a 
murder. 
 
The incoming file of the restoration from the Foreign 
Ministry, the Consular Directorate under the number 137 dated 
October 12, 2005 and registered in the register office of the 
Criminal Hand-over Committee number 575 for the year 2005. 
 
Since the wanted person is holding the Arab-Syrian 
citizenship and there is no judicial agreement between the 
Syrian Arab Republic and the United States of America and in 
accordance with the terms of Article No. 20 of the general 
penalty law the following has been decided unanimously: 
 
¶1.    The refusal of the hand-over of the wanted named Omar 
Sawaf, born in 1984, his mother,s name is Mayada, to the 
judicial authorities in the United States of America. 
¶2.    Forward all the documents and the hand-over file to the 
First Attorney General in Damascus in order to activate the 
general suit against the wanted person who is subject of the 
previous paragraph of this decision as a murder. 
¶3.    Inform the communication division. 
¶4.    Inform the First Attorney General in Damascus of the 
content of this resolution for duly implementation. 
 
The resolution issued on 10-17-1427 Hijri, and November 9, 
2006 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CORBIN