VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSF #0133/01 0551553
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
O 241553Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY SOFIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6745
INFO RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE

S E C R E T SOFIA 000133 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR S/GC MICHAEL WILLIAMS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/24/2020 
TAGS: PGOV PREL BU
SUBJECT: BULGARIA REQUESTS GITMO VISIT 
 
REF: 09 SOFIA 690 
 
Classified By: Ambassador James B. Warlick for reasons 1.4 (b)/(d) 
 
¶1. (U) Following is the text of a letter received February 24 
by Ambassador Warlick from Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister 
and Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov. 
 
¶2.  (S) Begin text: 
 
Your Excellency, 
 
With regard to the request of the Government of the United 
States of America for assistance in acceptance of individuals 
"cleared for release" from the Detention Center in the U.S. 
Naval base in Guantanamo Bay/Cuba and preliminary 
conversations with Mr. Daniel Fried -- Special Envoy for 
Closure of Guantanamo, I would like to inform you that in the 
Republic of Bulgaria there was carried out a careful analysis 
of this question.  The possible acceptance of such of 
individuals was discussed in the joint meetings of the 
Parliamentary Commissions of the Internal Security and Public 
Order of the Foreign Policy, Defence and Security. 
 
In the Republic of Bulgaria there was established, with a 
written Order (No. P-1 dated  January 5, 2010) issued by the 
Prime Minister, an Interdepartmental Working Group to prepare 
a national position on the reception of abovementioned 
individuals that had carried out an analysis and evaluation 
of all the aspects related to the eventual accommodation and 
integration of the former detainees, as well as had examined 
the information about eight individuals supplied by the USA. 
According to the general position of the Interdepartmental 
Working Group, as potential suitable individuals to be 
accepted could be identified two among the eight examined 
persons: 
 
¶1. Jihad DEYAB, Syrian national of Lebanese origin, DPOB 10 
July 1971, Jedeta Lebanon; 
 
¶2. Abdul Rauf Omar Mohammad Abu AL-QUSIN, Libyan national, 
born in 1965 in Tripoli, Libya. 
 
According to the position of the Interdepartmental Working 
Group the supplied information until now is not exhaustive 
enough to draw up a definitive position on the possible 
reception of one of the two individuals and for the 
preparation of his subsequent complete integration. 
 
On the 04 February 2010 the Council of Ministers of Republic 
of Bulgaria issued Decision No. 57 on the reception of the 
individuals that will be released from Guantanamo.  With 
regard to this Decision, with a view to the complete 
clarifying of the profiles of Jihad DEYAB and Abdul Rauf Omar 
Mohammad Abu AL-QUSIN, and with a purpose of the timely 
planning of the appropriate legal, organizational and law 
enforcement measures related to accommodation of the 
individuals, I kindly ask your assistance in receiving by 
Republic of Bulgaria from the Specialized Administration of 
the State Department on the closure of the Detention Center 
at Guantanamo, the whole available information, including the 
classified, acquired by the security services. 
 
Our State would also like to take advantage of the 
possibility to send a team of two experts and an Arabic 
interpreter in order to conduct an interview in the Detention 
Center, with the two aforementioned individuals. 
 
It will be of significant importance, to reach a final 
decision on the part of Republic of Bulgaria, as well as for 
the preparation of the abovementioned interviews, to obtain 
the following information as soon as possible: 
 
GENERAL QUESTIONS 
 
¶1.  What kind of information do the detainees of Guantanamo 
have about their actual status and their possible future 
(release, coming back in the State of origin, accommodation 
in other country, etc.)?  In what degree are they informed 
that they are objects of selection for reception by the 
different EU Member States? 
 
¶2.  Is it acceptable to audio record the interviews that the 
Bulgarian team will conduct? 
 
THE PERSONAL QUESTIONS 
 
¶1.  Would it possible to supply us in advance with the 
biometric data and photos of the two individuals, as well as 
information about their health condition (information from 
their medical examination, medical treatment, use of 
medicines, etc.) and about their psychological profile? 
 
¶2.  Are there some identification documents of these 
individuals available?  What type of documents is it?  Could 
the detainees obtain it after their release, no matter 
whether the documents are valid or not? 
 
¶3.  Do they keep some relations (correspondence, phone calls 
or in other way) with their families (wife, children) and do 
they declare some intentions to live with them after their 
release? 
 
¶4.  What kind are their intentions about their professional 
and personal life, respectively -- what are their 
expectations of the receiving country? 
 
¶5.  What is their concrete and specific religious 
affiliation?  What is the level of the sense of religion that 
they demonstrate (degree of observation of religious 
principles and practices, and the importance of the religion 
for their personal views of life)? 
 
¶6.  What languages do they speak and in which degree?  (In 
the supplied documents it is noted that Jihad DEYAB speaks 
only Arabic, but there is information that his mother is 
Argentinean -- Could be there a probability that he speaks 
Spanish?) 
 
¶7.  Are there among the rest of the detainees individuals 
that had been detained together with the two aforementioned 
individuals?  If yes, could you inform us about their 
identity and their status? 
 
¶8.  Do the detainees keep some close friendly relations with 
the rest of detainees and who are they (If it is possible 
could you provide us with information about their identity, 
ethnicity, their profile and status.)? 
 
We would be grateful to receive information on the person we 
should contact in view of visiting Guantanamo Detention 
Center in order to conduct an interview and on the 
person/contact point in view of the whole organization of the 
negotiating the procedure about the possible acceptance in 
the Republic of Bulgaria of a detainee cleared for release. 
 
While looking forward to hearing form you at your earliest 
convenience, 
 
I remain, 
 
Sincerely Yours, 
 
Signed 
 
(Tsvetan Tsvetanov) 
 
END TEXT 
 
WARLICK