VZCZCXRO6411
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDF #0010/01 1121746
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 221746Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0193
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 0001
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0002
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0001
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0209

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSSELDORF 000010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER KISL PGOV KCRM KZ PK UZ GM
SUBJECT: IJU/"SAUERLAND CELL" TERRORISM TRIAL OPENS IN DUESSELDORF 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000010  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: The trial of the "Sauerland Cell" charged 
with membership in the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU) and planning 
terrorist attacks in Germany against American and other targets 
began on April 22 amidst strict security and enormous media 
attention at the High Security Court in Duesseldorf.  Arrested 
in September 2007 after the largest undercover operation in 
Germany since that against the Red Army Faction (RAF) in the 
1970s, the defendants are a part of the first trial against 
"home grown" Islamic terrorists in the country's history.  The 
Prosecution said the cell wanted to kill as many Americans as 
possible because they saw Americans as the main enemy of Islam 
and that members of the cell were planning a series of attacks 
emulating 9/11.  A senior official told us she expects the trial 
to last two years, while some say it could take as long as 
three.  The Prosecution expects the Defense to challenge the 
admissibility of evidence gathered in interrogation by foreign 
authorities (alleged torture) and electronic surveillance of 
private areas.  A senior court source told us this case will 
navigate major new legal waters and establish important 
precedents for terrorism cases.  Charges carry a maximum 15-year 
sentence.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Almost 20 months after their arrest in a remote part 
of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), the four members of the 
so-called "Sauerland Cell" faced the opening of their trial on 
April 22 in the high security courtroom of the Sixth Criminal 
Division of Duesseldorf Higher Regional Court, which has gained 
an outstanding reputation for handling high profile terrorism 
cases in recent years.  Famed Judge Ottmar Breidling (62), who 
has handled many such trials, is presiding over this case, the 
most important and, as he has told us, most likely the last in 
his distinguished career (he must retire at age 65).   A senior 
official told us she expects the trial to last two years, while 
some say it could take as long as three. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (U) The Prosecution charged the four defendants, Fritz 
Gelowicz and Daniel Schneider, both German converts to Islam, 
and Adem Yilmaz and Attila Selek, both of whom grew up on 
Germany, with membership in a domestic terrorist cell and the 
IJU, based in Waziristan, Pakistan.  The Prosecution alleged 
that Gelowicz, Schneider, and Yilmaz traveled to the Middle East 
and Central Asia in 2006 to join the IJU and to obtain training 
at terrorist camps.  After a massive undercover operation, 
German authorities arrested them in September 2007 while they 
were preparing to build explosives to begin a campaign of terror 
in Germany.  The fourth defendant, Selek was living in Turkey at 
the time, was arrested there, and later extradited because he is 
a German citizen. 
 
 
 
Emulating 9/11 
 
 
 
¶4.  (U) In his opening presentation, the Prosecution stated that 
the main targets were U.S. citizens and military installations, 
including Ramstein AFB, but that the group had also considered 
other targets in Cologne, Duesseldorf, the Ruhr region, Munich 
and elsewhere.  The Prosecution said cell members wanted to kill 
as many Americans as possible because they saw the U.S. as the 
main enemy of Islam and because of U.S. military actions in 
Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Moreover, members of the cell had 
commented in recorded conversations that they wanted to carry 
out a series of attacks emulating 9/11.  Federal authorities 
have said that the explosives would have created much more 
damage than the Madrid and London attacks. 
 
 
 
Thorny Issues 
 
 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Prosecutors indicated that they will attempt to prove 
that the defendants were IJU members and had been trained at IJU 
terrorist camps.  Media accounts raise doubts about the evidence 
underpinning this connection, in part because of allegations 
that it may have been gathered from a witness who may have been 
tortured in Uzbekistan.  A Prosecuting Attorney refuted that 
allegation, however, maintaining that there was no evidence of 
torture and that they have seen videos of witnesses providing 
evidence in the presence of German authorities.  Speaking to the 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000010  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
media after the opening session, the attorney for Gelowicz 
claimed that his client had heard of the IJU for the first time 
in May 2007, several months before his arrest.  Gelowicz had 
wanted to further an international "jihad," but was not a member 
of the IJU, he continued, and had planned no terrorist attacks 
in Germany. 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) A senior judge told us the other difficult issue 
concerns surveillance, as the Defense is expected to challenge 
as much of the evidence obtained electronically as possible, on 
the grounds that it may not have been obtained legally and 
therefore may be inadmissible.  On the first day, the Defense 
began to challenge evidence obtained from U.S. sources, on the 
grounds that it violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance 
Act of 1978. 
 
 
 
¶7.  (U) The Prosecution charged Gelowicz with leading the cell 
and planning the bombing campaign.  If convicted of membership 
in an international terrorist organization, the Defendants could 
face up to 10 years in prison.  They could face a longer 
sentence of up to 15 years in prison if convicted of conspiracy 
to commit murder.  Separately Schneider faces a possible life 
sentence because he is accused of attempted murder of a police 
officer during the cell's arrest. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Our court sources are clearly geared up for a long and 
complex trial, but have expressed guarded confidence that they 
will be able to obtain a conviction.  They have gone to 
extraordinary lengths to prepare this case, in terms of 
technology, research, evidence (219 witnesses), and personnel 
(two attorneys per defendant to reduce the likelihood of 
delays).  Aside from obtaining convictions, we are impressed by 
the court's attempts to navigate new legal waters and to 
establish important precedents for terrorism cases in the 
future, a goal Breidling feels passionately about.  The 
Defendants' behavior in the courtroom presages an interesting 
trial, with Schneider removing his cap when the judges entered 
the room, while Yilmaz refused until admonished to do so and 
continued his protest by refusing to stand at appropriate times 
and by laughing openly and smiling while charges were being 
read.  The other three defendants sat expressionless and 
motionless. 
 
 
 
¶9.  (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
BOYSE