VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0430 0352341
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 042330Z FEB 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE PRIORITY 0000
INFO DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 010430 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2019 
TAGS: ASEC CVIS KLIG KVIS TI
SUBJECT: ARCHIVAL IMMUNITY WAIVER IN RESPONSE TO TAJIK MVD 
REQUEST FOR ARCHIVES AND COMMUNCATIONS FROM AMEMBASSY 
DUSHANBE 
 
REF: A. 09 DUSHANBE 0066 
 
Classified By: SCA/CEN Tom Hushek for reasons 1.4(c) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C)  On January 4, 7, and 9, Post has received three 
official written requests for documentation and information 
from the Tajik Ministry of Interior related to a criminal 
investigation into a criminal case violating the Tajik law 
"swindling".  (reftel) According to the documents received 
from the Government of Tajikistan a locally employed Embassy 
staff member from the Public Diplomacy section, Maya 
Vahobova, has been accused of selling promises of visa 
support along with a second Tajik national, Shakhzoda Mirova. 
 
 
¶2. (U) Post is authorized to transmitthe following points to 
the Government of Tajikistan by whatever means are deemed 
most appropriate. 
 
¶3. (C rel GOTI) Under Article 24 of the Vienna Convention on 
Diplomatic Relations, the archives of the Embassy are 
inviolable at any time and wherever they shall be. 
 
-- The United States hereby expressly waives its archival 
inviolability for the limited purpose of providing the 
following information to the Tajik Ministry of the Interior 
in relation to its criminal investigation of Maya Vahobova 
and Shakhzoda Mirova for an alleged violation of Tajik law 
"swindling" and for no other purpose. 
 
-- The following questions were posed by the Tajik Ministry 
of Interior. Below each question is Post's answer. 
 
¶A.    Please inform the Ministry whether Muyassara Kahorovna 
Vahobova is employed by the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of 
Tajikistan. If yes, beginning when, in what role/job, and 
what are her functional responsibilities.  Also, please 
advise the Ministry if she has the responsibility to prepare 
documents for the issuance of U.S. visas. 
 
ANSWER: Muyassara Kahorovna VAHOBOVA is currently employed by 
the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Tajikistan. She is the 
Cultural Assistant.  The cultural assistant reports to the 
Cultural Affairs Officer and is the mission's sole local 
employee who handles cultural and exchange activities.  The 
incumbent plans, develops, and administers nationwide 
education and cultural programs designed to help Tajik 
citizens better understand U.S. culture, values, and 
policies.  The cultural assistant is granted broad discretion 
in recommending and organizing receptions, exhibitions, 
artist performances, arts training, and visits by U.S. 
cultural envoys to promote US policies and values.  She 
manages the logistics and implementation of these events. The 
cultural assistant assists in the management of visits by 
Tajik citizens to the United States as part of cultural, 
educational, and professional exchange programs. She helps 
identify applicants for these programs, and a team of USG 
citizens selects the participants.  The cu 
ltural assistant then works directly with the participants to 
collect biographic data and arranges travel, leads or 
participates in pre-departure orientations, and return 
briefings.  She also prepares reports for State liaison 
offices in Washington. 
 
About 5 percent of the cultural assistant's time is spent 
helping applicants fill out the standard online visa forms, 
mostly for the International Visitor program.  The mandatory 
English language visa form DS-156 can ONLY be completed 
online and Maya helps those who do not speak English or who 
lack Internet access or even electricity, and sometimes their 
dependents who accompany them on the program.  The applicants 
fill in the paper copies of the form, often in Russian, then 
give Maya the form to put the data enter into the English 
online form.  Maya enters the information using her own 
computer, prints out the resulting document with the bar 
code, and gives the applicant the form, which the applicant 
takes to the consular section during the interview.  She is 
the liaison to the consular section, which sets the visa 
interview appointment.  She does not conduct visa interviews 
or have any interaction with the actual visa application 
process.  She does not issue visas nor have any influence 
over the issuance of visas.  The Consul reports that he has 
never been approached by Maya with any inappropriate 
questions regarding the visa process. 
 
¶B.    Who works with Vahobova in her section and in the 
office? Which office telephone number and mobile phone number 
does she use? What are the other office telephone numbers in 
her area? And who has access to her phone and the other 
office telephones? 
 
ANSWER: The Public Diplomacy section of the Embassy is led by 
Jacqueline McKennan and her deputy Anne Benjaminson. Both are 
American diplomats accredited to the Republic of Tajikistan. 
There are currently two other citizens of Tajikistan that 
work in the Public Diplomacy office. Abdumalik Kadirov is a 
Cultural Affairs Assistant working alongside Maya Vahobova. 
Nigina Alieva is an Information Assistant and works with the 
mass media. 
 
Maya Vahobova's office number is 229-2312. Her cell phone 
number is 90-700-7060. Anyone in the Public Diplomacy section 
could, theoretically, have access to any of the office 
telephones in the section. The other extension numbers for 
the section are: 2351, 2313, 2315, 2314, 2318. 
 
¶C.    Which Embassy employee uses the telephone numbers 
229-23-00 and 229-23-12. Who has right to use these 
telephones? Is it possible to make outgoing call from these 
numbers. 
 
ANSWER: 229-2300 is the general number for the 
ConsularAffairs section. Nobody in the Public Diplomacy 
section would have access to that number. It does not connect 
to numbers outside the Consular section. There is an 
automated answer and reply system that allows callers to get 
routine answers in multiple languages to Consular services. 
Nobody uses that number directly to call outside the Embassy. 
 229-2312 is a telephone number in the Public Diplomacy 
section and belongs to Maya Vahobova. Anyone in the Public 
Diplomacy section could, theoretically, have access to this 
number. 
 
¶D.    Did Vahobova speak at any universities or similar 
institutions in Dushanbe on behalf of U.S. Government 
programs from July up to present time? If yes when, with 
which program, and in which institutions? 
 
ANSWER: In September, Maya and Anne Benjaminson attended the 
International Education Fair in Khujand attended by hundreds 
of academics, students.  Many educational institutions, NGOs, 
and foreign missions set up information booths and made 
presentations about international study programs. 
 
On the following dates Maya accompanied U.S. Embassy 
personnel who delivered lectures about quoted topics approved 
by the Ministry of Education: Nov 12 Anne Benjaminson, 
Pedagogical institute, "Education in the U.S." Nov 14 DCM 
Necia Quast, Technological University of Tajikistan, 
"American Agriculture." Nov 20 - Anne Benjaminson  - 
Tajik-Russian Slavonic University ) presentation on the 
Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant program and 
other exchange programs. Jan 7 ) RSO Seth Green, 
Technological University of Tajikistan, "The U.S. 
Constitution." 
 
¶E.    What documents are necessary to apply for an American 
visa? 
 
ANSWER: The following United States Government forms are 
necessary to apply for a visa: Forms DS-156 (visa 
application), DS-157 (for men aged 16-45) and DS-158 (for 
students). In addition, applicants must present 1 photo, a 
valid foreign passport and the Consular fee of 131 USD. 
 
¶F.    The order of addressing, obtaining and extension of USA 
visa. 
 
ANSWER: The process of receiving a visa is 1) Make an 
advanced appointment online. 2) Submit the forms, photo, ID, 
and fee on the day of the appointment. 3) Participate in a 
visa interview with an American Consul. 4) Submit electronic 
fingerprints at the time of the interview. 5) Visa wait time 
is typically one day after the interview. 
 
No visa extensions are available. Each time the applicant 
must go through the above process and pay a new fee each 
time. 
 
 
¶G.    Is there a citizen of the Republic of Tajikistan by the 
name "Muyasara" and "Maysara" approximately 40-45 years old 
employed by the Embassy of the United States of America in 
the Republic of Tajikistan with the exception of VAHOBOVA 
Muyassara Kahorovna? 
 
ANSWER: There are no other Embassy employees named "Muyasara" 
and "Maysara", regardless of age. 
 
 
¶H.    In the course of the Embassy's preliminary 
investigation, the Embassy's local security employee, Yusuf 
Kholov, used a photo spread to ascertain whether Mirova could 
identify Vahobova. The Ministry requests a copy of the photos 
used for the investigative file and evidence. 
 
 
¶I.    Which Embassy employees use telephone numbers 229-20-00 
and 229-23-14?  Who uses these telephone numbers? Is this 
possible to make outgoing call from these numbers? 
 
ANSWER: 229-2000 is the general Embassy switchboard number. 
Any and all phone extensions in the Embassy will show this 
number for outgoing calls and this number is widely and 
publicly distributed as the Embassy's general number. While 
nobody individually has the 229-2000 number, all outgoing 
calls from the Embassy would show this number. 
 
229-2314 is a number in the Public Diplomacy section. The 
desk the phone is on is currently vacant. Anyone in the 
Public Diplomacy section could, theoretically, have access to 
this number. 
 
 
¶J.    On December 2, 2008, please provide the Ministry 
information about when Vahobova and Kholov arrived and 
departed the Embassy. 
 
ANSWER: Yusuf Kholov arrived at the Embassy on December 2, 
2008 at 0705 and departed the Embassy at 1746 hours. Maya 
Vahobova arrived at the Embassy on December 2, 2008 at 0807 
and departed the Embassy at 1659 hours. 
 
 
¶K.    According to phone records of incoming and outgoing 
calls from cellular phone of Mirova (tel: 93-520-00-88) she 
repeatedly called to the following phone numbers of the U.S. 
Embassy. Please provide us with the information regarding who 
from the Embassy spoke on the phone with Mirova? What was the 
subject of their conversation and whether phone conversations 
were recorded? If yes, please provide investigation with the 
mentioned conversation to add it to criminal case. 
 
i.    229-23-00: 11-12-2008 at 11:08: duration of call 36 
seconds 
ii.   229-23-00: 11-12-2008 at 11:30: duration of call 25 
seconds 
iii.  229-20-00: 11-18-2008 at 8:34: duration of call 1 
minute 36 seconds 
iv.   229-23-00: 11-20-2008 at 15:16: duration of call 6 
seconds 
v.    229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 17:11: duration of call 1 
minute 43 seconds 
vi.   229-20-00: 12-02-2008 at 17:14: duration of call 4 
minutes 22 seconds 
vii.  229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 22:22: duration of call 1 
minute 43 seconds 
viii. 229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 22:30: duration of call 1 
minute 30 seconds 
ix.   229-23-00: 12-02-2008 at 22:33: duration of call 45 
seconds 
 
ANSWER: Calls to the number 229-2300 were sent to an 
automated message service. There are numerous automated 
messages and options to acquire various information related 
to Consular services such as American passport renewal, 
non-immigrant visa services, birth and death notifications, 
and other services commonly provided by Consular sections 
around the world. As this is not a number that a live person 
answers, there was not likely any conversation ) especially 
with the short duration of the calls. The number 229-2300 
does not have an operator assigned and cannot transfer calls 
to other extensions. 
 
Calls to the number 229-2000 go to the main operator. The 
operator received dozens of calls per day and does not 
register or log whom they transfer calls to. A check of 
Embassy records shows that 570-0088 did in fact dial the 
Embassy number at 08:35. After 26 seconds, the call was 
transferred to the Consular section (extension 2308) to local 
employee Natasha Pilipenko. The call lasted 1 minute exactly 
and was transferred to extension 2302, belonging to local 
employee Tahmina Dekhoti. The call lasted 29 seconds and was 
disconnected. Dekhoti indicated that she did not in fact 
speak with Mirova from that number, but rather it was Sadbarg 
Ganieva calling from Mirova's cell phone. According to 
Takhmina, Ganieva had called many times before but Embassy 
records indicate that other numbers were used. She said that 
her son and several other student aged people paid between 
3500 and 4500 USD to Maya through someone named Shakhzoda. 
According to Ganieva, Maya promised to assist with an F-1 
student visa if they pay her and eventually disappeared. 
According to Takhmina, Ganieva made implicit threats of 
physical harm to her ) and indicated that she had &high 
level connections8 at the Tajik State Committee for National 
Security.  During the call in question, she also mentioned 
that she had already spoken with both Maya Vakhobova and 
Yusuf Kholov and was aware that the Embassy had filed a case 
with the Ministry of Interior. Sadbarg Ganieva is the head of 
the local UNESCO office, and an employee of the Tajik 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  RSO learned during the 
investigation that Sadbarg Ganieva's son is the boyfriend of 
Mirova. 
CLINTON