VZCZCXRO5473
PP RUEHAG RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHYG
DE RUEHDF #0034/01 3401626
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061626Z DEC 07
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0099
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0113

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSSELDORF 000034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER KJUS KLIG KISL GM
SUBJECT: IN LANDMARK CASE, DUESSELDORF COURT CONVICTS THREE FOR 
SUPPORTING AL-QAEDA 
 
REF: A) DUESSELDORF 30; B) DUESSELDORF 22 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000034  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution 
 
¶1.  (U) After a trial lasting more than 18 months, the 
Duesseldorf Higher Regional Court on December 5 convicted Syrian 
national Ibrahim Mohamed Khalil (32) and the Palestinian 
brothers Yasser Abu Shaweesh (34) and Ismail Abu Shaweesh (30) 
for belonging to and/or supporting al-Qaeda -- AQ (Ref B). 
Khalil, an asylum seeker whose nationality has since been 
established as not Iraqi as he previously claimed, and the elder 
Shaweesh, a former medical student, received seven and six year 
terms, respectively, for belonging to AQ, attempting to recruit 
combatants, attempting to purchase 48 grams of radioactive 
material for a "dirty bomb," and committing 28 counts of 
insurance fraud valued at more than 4.3 million euros for the 
benefit of AQ (about 20 percent of which was destined for AQ, 
with the remainder going to their private consumption).  The 
younger Shaweesh, who received a three and one half year term 
for a more diffuse form of support for AQ and for complicity in 
insurance fraud, was released following the sentence because 
German law allows the release of a person who has served 2/3 of 
his/her sentence while in detention.  The trial, which took 
place on 131 separate days and included testimony from more than 
200 witnesses, was repeatedly delayed by procedural and other 
maneuvers. 
 
¶2.  (U) The defense immediately lodged an appeal, in part 
arguing that evidence derived from electronic eavesdropping is 
unconstitutional and that legal requirements, including in the 
state of Rhineland Palatinate, were not properly followed. 
Higher Regional Court Press Spokesman Dr. Ulrich Thole told the 
CG December 6 that the Appeals Court in Karlsruhe will issue a 
final written decision by June 2008, which will also cement the 
legality of this (oral) verdict. 
 
Landmark Case 
------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Calling the sentences a "path breaking decision," 
Presiding Judge Ottmar Breidling said the case was the first in 
Germany in which defendants have been convicted of membership in 
a foreign terrorist organization, a crime that became law in 
August 2002.  Thole confirmed that this was also the first 
terrorism case in Germany in which law enforcement and judicial 
authorities successfully used evidence derived from secret 
electronic eavesdropping of defendants' private living quarters 
in obtaining convictions.  He added that the eavesdropping was 
critical to obtaining the verdict, but that it also presented 
challenges (e.g. audibility, language issues, and relevant 
evidence gathered during Muslim prayer, which is protected). 
The eavesdropping was made possible by a 16 January 1998 
Bundestag law amending the German constitution and enabling 
authorities to monitor individuals' living quarters. 
 
¶4.  (U) Note: The 1998 law is widely referred to in Germany as 
"der grosse Lauschangriff," whose literal translation -- "major 
bugging attack" -- only awkwardly captures the negative manner 
in which many German commentators in politics and the media 
refer to it.  On March 2, 2004, the Constitutional Court in 
Karlsruhe ruled that the 1998 law was indeed constitutional, but 
required that several aspects of law needed to be amended, which 
the Bundestag did on June 24, 2005.  This law is not to be 
confused with the "kleine (minor) Lauschangriff," which permits 
eavesdropping in public places.  End Note. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) This verdict is a major victory and precedent setting 
case for German efforts to combat terrorism through the courts. 
It also reaffirms the reputation of Presiding Judge Ottmar 
Breidling as one of Germany's most pro-active, thorough and 
committed legal figures in the field of counter-terrorism (Ref 
A).  He expressed satisfaction that he was able to prove in 
court that AQ is a concrete organization and not, as the defense 
argued, a diffuse ideological movement.  This, he said, was a 
prerequisite to the verdict.  It will be important to watch the 
effects of this case on legal and political thinking in Germany, 
as well as how public debate and practice over electronic 
eavesdropping evolves.  The "legal grey areas" mentioned in some 
media commentary refer to eavesdropping undertaken between the 
March 2, 2004 Court and the amendment of the law by the 
Bundestag on June 24, 2005.  Editorial comment in the NRW media 
has been overwhelmingly positive regarding the admissibility and 
acceptability of eavesdropping of private living quarters in 
cases dealing with terrorism, a view law enforcement authorities 
here share. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) German critics of the Administration's legal approach 
to the War on Terrorism may use this case to illustrate the view 
that terrorism cases can be tried successfully in civilian 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000034  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
courts.  We note that Breidling also publicly highlighted the 
unusually long and complex legal process that produced his 
decision.  He remains frustrated with the means currently at the 
disposal of the German state to try terrorism cases, calling 
them "too restrictive" and a "dull sword," comments some 
national papers found objectionable, arguing that a presiding 
judge should only pronounce on a case, and not express views 
about the adequacy of laws and procedures.  The conviction was 
indeed only possible because police followed exactly the 
detailed legal prescriptions set forth by the Constitutional 
Court in its March 2004 ruling.  Had any procedural oversights 
taken place along the way, the defendants would have been 
released. 
BOYSE