VZCZCXRO0598
OO RUEHPOD
DE RUEHPOD #0246/01 1931302
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121302Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0333
INFO RUEHFT/AMCONSUL FRANKFURT IMMEDIATE 0043
RUEHVB/AMEMBASSY ZAGREB IMMEDIATE 0041
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0148
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0018
RUEHPS/USOFFICE PRISTINA PRIORITY 0018
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 0012
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 0358

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PODGORICA 000246 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FRANKFURT FOR RCO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CASC PREL MW
SUBJECT: ABUSE ALLEGATIONS INTENSIFY AS EAGLE'S FLIGHT CASE 
PROGRESSES 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary:  On September 9, 2006 the Montenegrin police 
arrested 12 individuals, including three American citizens, on 
suspicion of planning to use violence to disrupt the 
Parliamentary elections scheduled for September 10. An 
additional six were named in the indictment, three of whom are 
not yet in Montenegrin custody. The individuals have been on 
trial since May 14. Family members have conducted an active 
campaign in Montenegro and the US and are asserting the 
innocence of the accused. In recent weeks the campaign has 
become more strident in tone, increased the focus on charges of 
police abuse and expanded to include all Albanians, not just 
Americans charged in the case. End summary 
 
 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) Montenegrin police arrested nine Albanian-Montenegrins 
and three Albanian-Americans on September 9, acting on the basis 
of information received that a group of individuals planned to 
disrupt the elections by firebombing mosques, kidnapping and/or 
assassinating an ethnic Albanian member of Parliament, and 
damaging government buildings. Police also seized a cache of 
weapons. Although many of these were old rifles and thus not 
unusual in a country where guns are common, but nonetheless 
require licenses, there were also rocket propelled grenade 
launchers and grenades among the weapons seized. A fourth 
American citizen sought in connection with the purported plot 
was subsequently arrested in Vienna and Montenegro applied for 
his extradition. Austrian courts have ruled favorably on that 
request and action is now with the Austrian Ministry of Justice 
and Foreign Affairs. 
 
 
 
¶3. (U) The Montenegrin prosecutor has charged that the Americans 
 are associated with an Albanian organization in Detroit, 
loosely translated as the Albanian Immigrants Association, which 
had previously provided funding to the Kosovo Liberation Army 
and began in 2004/05 to promote the establishment of an Albanian 
organization in the Podgorica area whose purpose would be to 
create autonomous Albanian zones within Montenegro. The 
prosecutor has charged that American citizens promised the 
Montenegro based organization financial support as well as armed 
fighters from Kosovo. 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) During the initial consular visit with the detainees on 
September 13, one had a very visible black eye, but declined the 
consular officer's offer to protest this. All three professed 
their innocence. In following weeks, family members went to the 
press with reports of excessive force used by police at the time 
of arrest and subsequently while the detainees awaited their 
initial appearance before a magistrate on September 11 and 12. 
Taking note of the press reports, on October 16, 2006, the 
Charge urged the Minister of the Interior to initiate an 
investigation.  During a consular visit on October 27, 2006, the 
three Americans signed statements asking the consular officer to 
officially protest their mistreatment at the hands of the 
police. According to contemporaneous notes they alleged that 
during the first three days following arrest they had been 
kicked, beaten, shoved, had their hair pulled and were denied 
food. One stated that he had a gun pointed at his head. Another 
stated that he had a plastic bag placed over his head and that a 
policeman had threatened to take him to the north of Montenegro 
and kill him. The Embassy on  November 2  formally requested via 
diplomatic note that the government of Montenegro fully 
investigate these allegations of abuse and take all appropriate 
measures to protect the rights of the detainees. 
 
 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) The Embassy has visited the detainees on a regular basis 
and sought to be responsive to their requests for medical 
attention, phone calls to family in the US, and visits of family 
members outside of regular visiting hours. The Embassy has 
facilitated meetings for family members with senior Montenegrin 
officials, and Embassy representatives have also met with family 
members, representatives of the Albanian-American community who 
have an interest in the case or who have been described as legal 
representatives of two of the detainees. Initially the focus was 
 
PODGORICA 00000246  002 OF 003 
 
 
on the individuals' innocence and their perceived inability to 
get a fair trial in Montenegro. There were complaints about the 
length of time which elapsed between the September 9 arrest and 
the December 7 filing of formal charges. (Embassy notes that in 
a terrorism related case in the FRG, the arrest occurred in 
July, 06 and formal charges weren't filed until the end of 
April, 07)  The Embassy was repeatedly in touch with the 
Judiciary to urge an early start date for the trial as well a 
regarding arrangements for interpretation. The trial is 
conducted in the local variant of Serbian and the Americans all 
requested interpretation in Albanian; this request was granted. 
 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Meeting with the Charge on February 7, 2007, an 
Albanian-American lawyer who was at that time a legal 
representative of at least two of the Americans, the lawyer 
stated that his clients were innocent and deserved medals, 
rather than arrest because when the use of violence came up at a 
meeting they argued against it. When asked by the Charge if the 
two had reported the matter to the authorities, he did not 
respond. 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) The trial began on May 14 and as it has progressed Post 
has seen a shift in the focus of the family members and 
supporters. While continuing to assert innocence, the focus 
increasingly is on the allegations of abuse, now routinely 
described as torture by the family members. The most outspoken 
family member, who arrived in Montenegro shortly after the 
arrests and has been here for much of the intervening time, 
recently returned to the US to call on members of Congress and 
various Albanian-American organizations to discuss the case and 
elicit support. The tone of the letters and inquires from groups 
in the US now focuses not just on the Americans on trial, but 
also on the treatment of Albanian-Montenegrins. The tone has 
become more strident and descriptions of the initial abuse have 
grown. For example, in a letter recently received from and 
Albanian-American organization it is asserted that one of the 
Americans had three of his ribs broken and was transported to an 
isolated and wooded area where a pistol was held to his head and 
he was threatened with execution. (see para 4 for 
contemporaneous account where he did not mention gun being 
pointed at his head. mention ) . There is no medical 
confirmation of broken ribs. The detainees have been seen by 
independent medical personnel. 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Letters from Albanian-American organizations now deal 
with the treatment of the American citizens and that of 
Montenegrins. In one there is allegation that a Montenegrin 
defendant had  his arm broken by the police. A defendant 
appeared in court recently, that is more than eight months after 
the arrests, with his arm in a sling. According to the prison 
warden he slipped in prison and suffered a fracture. While it is 
possible that the prisoner was the victim of abuse by prison 
authorities, it is notable that the Americans have not/not 
alleged any abuse by prison authorities, referring only to abuse 
in the immediate aftermath of arrest. Another new assertion is 
that police used a blow torch to try and remove an Albanian 
symbol tattoo from one of the Montenegrin defendant's body. Post 
is sharing these charges with the Prosecutor's office which took 
over the investigation of police abuse after a police 
investigation proved inconclusive. 
 
 
 
¶9. (U) A member of the US Congress twice phoned the Montenegrin 
Ambassador in Washington seeking a pardon for the Americans, 
although they have not been convicted of anything. The Member 
then followed up with a phone call to the Montenegrin Prime 
Minster the week of June18 which resulted in official complaints 
to the Department and the Charge. 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) A second Albanian-American lawyer who has observed the 
trial recently told the Embassy that he believed all defendants 
would be found guilty, with some receiving long prison 
sentences. He was critical of the defendants' lawyers for their 
failure to move the process along by allowing their clients to 
 
PODGORICA 00000246  003 OF 003 
 
 
making lengthy statements of marginal value to their defense. 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) Whether it is the prospect of the arrival of the 
American arrested in Vienna, whom Montenegrins view as the key 
figure in the alleged plot, the fact that trial is entering its 
end phase, or the somber assessment of an American attorney, the 
supporters' campaign has become more strident and criticism of 
the Embassy's actions has reached new levels. The adjournment of 
the trial until September 11 is certain to precipitate further 
criticism that the Embassy has not done enough on behalf of the 
Americans. 
 
 
 
¶12. (SBU) Post is hampered by staffing gaps, there is no 
consular officer at present and the consular assistant who has 
tracked the case will be resigning in early August. Nonetheless, 
Post will continue to monitor the case, provide appropriate 
assistance and attempt to provide factual information.  It is 
clear that the campaign of sensationalist information is having 
an impact among groups in the US. It may, however, play less 
well here, witness the reaction to the Congressional call. 
BARNES