VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKU #0099/01 0341255
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 031255Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4526
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS KUWAIT 000099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/ARP, NEA/RA, S/CT 
OVP FOR MUSTAFA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PGOV PREL PINR KU
SUBJECT: KUWAIT:  TERRORISM TRIAL CONTINUES, KSS WITNESS 
STRONGLY DEFENDS CASE AGAINST ARIFJAN PLOTTERS IN OPEN COURT 
 
REF: 2009 KUWAIT 1202 
 
 ¶1.  (SBU)  In the ongoing trial of the alleged "Arifjan 
plotters" -- adjourned since December 21 (reftel) -- Kuwait 
State Security (KSS) investigator Abdulaziz Salem testified 
in the Court of First Instance February 2 that though 
conspiracy charges were dismissed earlier, six Kuwaitis had 
indeed plotted to attack the US military base Camp Arifjan. 
In the hearing, which was observed by an Embassy political 
specialist, Salem strongly defended the case against the 
defendents, during 90 minutes of tough grilling from the 
presiding Kuwaiti judge.  During his testimony, Salem 
provided the below details gleaned by KSS during the 
investigation: 
 
--  KSS received information that two of the defendants 
(Yousef Ahmad Mohammed and Abdulaziz Al-Qattan) were planning 
to perform hostile acts in Kuwait.  He also testified that 
Bahraini security forces informed KSS that Yousef Ahmad 
Mohammed had links to a terror cell in Bahrain. 
 
--  Abdulaziz Al-Qattan confessed to KSS that he and Yousef 
Ahmad Mohammed had visited a firing range in Sabhan, Kuwait, 
and that they had received arms training and surveilled Camp 
Arifjan.  Abdulaziz Al-Qattan also allegedly revealed to 
Yousef Ahmad Mohammed that roles had been assigned to various 
operatives in preparation for an attack against Camp Arifjan. 
 He further revealed, according to Salem's testimony, that 
the group had acquired weapons, a truck and explosive 
material.  Salem also testified that Yousef Ahmad Mohammed 
had volunteered to participate in the planned attack on Camp 
Arifjan.  Sulayman Jamal Ahmad Al-Kandari (son of former MP 
Jamal Al-Kandari) was also subsequently recruited by 
Abdulaziz Al-Qattan to participate in the attack. 
 
--  Another defendant, Mohammed Asad Abdullah Al-Kandari 
initially denied to KSS investigators statements made by 
Yousef Ahmad Mohammed and Abdulaziz Al-Qattan linking him to 
Al-Qaeda, but subsequently confessed that he had experimented 
twice, along with Sulaiman Jamal Ahmad Al-Kandari and Muhsen 
Fadhil Ayed Al-Fadhli, with explosives using agricultural 
materials such as fertilizers and sulfur. 
 
--  Defendant Sulayman Jamal Ahmad Al-Kandari also denied 
initial accusations, but later, when faced with the testimony 
of the others, admitted that he had made explosives, planned 
to attack Arifjan Camp, and that he aided and abetted 
fugitive Muhsen Al-Fadhli.  Sulayman was of special interest 
to KSS because as Deputy Director of Abraj Company, a defense 
contractor firm, he had had access to Camp Arifjan.  He also 
admitted that he had three machine-guns, one AK-47, two 
pistols and a shotgun and materials to make explosives. 
 
¶2.  (Note:  The defendants have reportedly denied their 
participation in terrorism-related activities and have 
charged that previous admissions of guilt were obtained under 
abuse duress at the hands of KSS.  End note.) 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  Taking security concerns seriously, a Kuwaiti 
Special Forces detail escorted the defendants, manacled and 
blindfolded into the courtroom.  The defendants -- two of 
whom were tried in absentia -- include: 
 
¶1.    Sulaiman Jamal Ahmad Al-Kandari 
¶2.    Mohammed Asad Abdullah Al-Kandari 
¶3.    Yousef Ahmad Mohammed 
¶4.    Abdulaziz Al-Qattan 
¶5.    Mohammed Abdullah Nasser Al-Dosari (tried in absentia, 
currently detained by the GoL in Lebanon) 
¶6.    Abdullah Mohammed Ahmad Al-Kandari 
¶7.    Muhsen Fadhil Ayed Al-Fadhli (tried in absentia, 
currently at large) 
¶8.    Sami Mohammed Marzouq Al-Mutayri 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  Though conspiracy charges were dismissed (reftel), 
the defendants still face the following charges: 
 
-- Performing a hostile act against a foreign country which 
could expose the State of Kuwait to the risk of war or 
breaking of political relations; 
 
-- Possession of and training on weapons and martial arts 
with the intent of applying these skills to achieve an 
illegal purpose. 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  The trial is scheduled to re-convene on February 
15 with testimonies of a ballistics expert and a medical 
examiner.  The court will likely consider charges by the 
prisoners that they were abused and that their confessions 
were obtained by force. 
 
 
********************************************* ********* 
For more reporting from Embassy Kuwait, visit: 
visit Kuwait's Classified Website at: 
 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Kuwa it 
********************************************* ********* 
JONES