_
_
_
_
Guantánamo

Cable en el que EE UU advierte del impacto del procesamiento en las relaciones bilaterales

El Gobierno asegura que no está de acuerdo con la Audiencia, y el fiscal tranquiliza a la embajada: "A la querella le faltan muchos detalles"

ID:202776
Date:2009-04-17 06:07:00
Origin:09MADRID392
Source:Embassy Madrid
Classification:CONFIDENTIAL
Dunno:09MADRID347 09MADRID383
Destination:VZCZCXRO2165
OO RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHMD #0392/01 1070607
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 170607Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0523
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA IMMEDIATE 3951
RUCNFB/FBI WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO IMMEDIATE 1553
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0497
RUEHMD/USDAO MADRID SP IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEILB/NCTC WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000392

SIPDIS

EUR/WE FOR ELAINE SAMSON AND STACIE ZERDECKI,
L/LEI FOR KEN PROPP AND CLIFF JOHNSON
CA/OCS FOR PPLATUKIS AND MBERNIER-TOTH
INR FOR JANICE BELL
S/CT FOR MARC NORMAN
EMBASSY ROME FOR MOLLY PHEE
PASS TO NSC'S TOBY BRADLEY, CAROLYN KRASS
PASS TO DOJ'S BRUCE SWARTZ AND DOJ/OIA/PAT REEDY

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/16/2019
TAGS: AORC, PREL, CASC, CJAN, PTER, PGOV, PHUM, PINS, SOCI,
KCRM, KJUS, KISL, KLIG, SP
SUBJECT: SPAIN: ATTORNEY GENERAL RECOMMENDS COURT NOT
PURSUE GTMO CRIMINAL CASE VS. FORMER USG OFFICIALS

REF: A. MADRID 383
B. MADRID 347

MADRID 00000392 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Charge D'Affaires Arnold A. Chacon for reasons 1.4 (b) a
nd (d)

1. (C) SUMMARY. On April 16, Candido Conde Pumpido, Spain's
Attorney General (AG), publicly stated that prosecutors will
"undoubtedly" not support a criminal complaint, filed by a
Spanish NGO with the National Court, to investigate six
former USG officials, including former AG Alberto Gonzalez,
for creating a legal framework that allegedly permitted
torture. During a Q&A session of a previously scheduled
public address, Conde Pumpido responded to a question on the
issue by stating that he will not support the criminal
complaint because it is "fraudulent," and has been filed as a
political statement to attack past USG policies. The AG
noted that the GOS could not pursue a complaint that targeted
USG advisors while a similar suit against the Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld (see REF B) had failed. While Conde
Pumpido defended the GOS's investigation of universal
jurisdiction cases to defend human rights, he said that the
policy will not be used as a toy or a tool to force the GOS
into investigating the decisions of another government. The
AG added that if there is evidence of criminal activity by
USG officials, then a case should be filed in the United
States. Addressing next steps, the AG's press chief
subsequently told the media that the Prosecutor's office will
deliver the AG's recommendation to the National Court, where
it will be up to investigating judge Baltasar Garzon - an
outspoken critic of the Guantanamo detention facility who has
publicly stated that former President Bush should be tried
for war crimes - to decide whether to pursue the case or not.
As reported in REFTELs, Conde Pumpido's public announcement
follows outreach to GOS officials to raise USG deep concerns
on the implications of this case. END SUMMARY.

//BACKGROUND ON THE CASE//

2. (C) As reported in REF B, a Spanish NGO - Association for
the Dignity of Spanish Prisoners - in March 2009 requested
that the National Court indict six former U.S. officials for
creating a legal framework that allegedly permitted torture.
The six accused are: former AG Alberto Gonzales; David
Addington, former chief of staff and legal adviser to the
Vice President; William Haynes, former DOD General Counsel;
Douglas Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy;
Jay Bybee, former head of the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel;
and John Yoo, a former member of Bybee's staff. The NGO
claimed that Spain had a duty to open a "universal
jurisdiction" case because five Guantanamo detainees are
either Spanish citizens or were/are Spanish residents.
Although he seemed displeased to have this dropped in his
lap, Chief Prosecutor Javier Zaragoza on April 1 privately
told Embassy officials the complaint - at first glance -
appeared well-documented and in all likelihood he would have
no option but to open a case.

//ANNOUNCEMENT FOLLOWS INTENSIVE USG OUTREACH//

3. (C) Following revelations by the Spanish press that the
complaint had been filed, the Acting DCM on March 31 and
April 1 phoned FM Moratinos' Chief of Staff Agustin Santos,
and MOJ Director General for International Judicial
Cooperation Aurora Mejia about the matter. Both expressed
their concern at the case but stressed the independence of
the Spanish judiciary. The A/DCM stressed to both that this
was a very serious matter for the USG and asked that the
Embassy be kept informed of any developments.


MADRID 00000392 002.2 OF 003


4. (C) As reported in REF A, Senator Judd Gregg, accompanied
by the Charge d'Affaires, raised the issue with Luis Felipe
Fernandez de la Pena, Director General Policy Director for
North America and Europe during a visit to the Spanish MFA on
April 13. Senator Gregg expressed his concern about the
case. Fernandez de la Pena lamented this development, adding
that judicial independence notwithstanding, the MFA disagreed
with efforts to apply universal jurisdiction in such cases.

5. (C) Zaragoza on April 14 called Embassy Madrid's FSN Legal
Adviser and informed her that a more thorough study had
revealed that the complaint was targeted against legal
advisors with no executive authority and that it was legally
difficult to establish what type of offense the six had
committed and the degree to which they participated in the
alleged offenses. Zaragoza said the complaint lacked details
and was directed against USG policy rather than a specific
perpetrator. He said he would ask Conde Pumpido to review
whether Spain has jurisdiction in this case and indicated
that he hoped the Spanish AG would draft a clear set of rules
on how and when Spain should prosecute universal jurisdiction
complaints.

6. (C) As reported in SEPTEL, Senator Mel Martinez,
accompanied by the Charge d'Affaires, met Acting FM Angel
Lossada during a visit to the Spanish MFA on April 15.
Martinez and the Charge underscored that the prosecutions
would not be understood or accepted in the U.S. and would
have an enormous impact on the bilateral relationship. The
Senator also asked if the GOS had thoroughly considered the
source of the material on which the allegations were based to
ensure the charges were not based on misinformation or
factually wrong statements. Lossada responded that the GOS
recognized all of the complications presented by universal
jurisdiction, but that the independence of the judiciary and
the process must be respected. The GOS would use all
appropriate legal tools in the matter. While it did not have
much margin to operate, the GOS would advise Conde Pumpido
that the official administration position was that the GOS
was "not in accord with the National Court." Lossada
reiterated to Martinez that the executive branch of
government could not close any judicial investigation and
urged that this case not affect the overall relationship,
adding that our interests were much broader, and that the
universal jurisdiction case should not be viewed as a
reflection of the GOS position.

7. (C) Meanwhile, the Embassy has been involved in DOJ-led
talks to have Zaragoza - who attended the April 16 press
conference - lead a four-person team of GOS officials to
Washington for a possible meeting with U.S. Deputy AG David
Ogden or AG Eric Holder during the week of May 18.
Zaragoza's wife, who is Conde Pumpido's chief of staff, would
reportedly be one of the four.

//COMMENT//

8. (C) Although not legally binding on the National Court,
Conde Pumpido's announcement puts pressure on crusading judge
Garzon, who has not yet accepted the case, not to proceed
with the investigation. As described in REF B, Zaragoza has
indicated to Post - and reconfirmed this in his April 14
phone call in Para 3 - that he would argue that the case
should not be assigned to Garzon and instead would recommend
that Garzon's colleague, Investigating Judge Ismael Moreno,
should be assigned the case. Zaragoza said the case ties in
with Moreno's ongoing investigations into alleged illegal
"CIA flights" that have transited Spain carrying detainees to
Guantanamo. Zaragoza acknowledges that Garzon has the "right
of first refusal," but has told Post that if Garzon

MADRID 00000392 003.2 OF 003


disregards his recommendation and takes the case, the
prosecutor will appeal. When a judge disagrees with the
prosecutor on how or what to investigate, then the prosecutor
has the right to appeal to a higher court, in this case the
National Court's Criminal Chamber, led by Javier Gomez
Bermudez. During this period in which the jurisdiction of
the case is in question, Garzon could still proceed with the
case, including preparing MLATs to question to the accused,
formally naming the accused as defendants, and issuing arrest
warrants against them. Investigating judges in Spain,
including and especially Garzon, have used this tactic
frequently, particularly when these actions are popular with
sizable segments of the Spanish population. This worst-case
scenario remains a possibility at this point. Zaragoza has
also told us that if a proceeding regarding this matter were
underway in the U.S., that would effectively bar proceedings
in Spain. We intend to further explore this option with him
informally (asking about format, timing, how much information
he would need, etc.) while making it clear that the USG has
not made a decision to follow this course of action.
CHACON
Traduce este documento »

Traducción automática. Puede que el texto traducido no sea fiel al original

Buscador de cables

Ver todos los documentos »
Más información
"Zaragoza tiene una estrategia para torcer el brazo a Garzón en el 'caso Guantánamo"

Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo

¿Quieres añadir otro usuario a tu suscripción?

Si continúas leyendo en este dispositivo, no se podrá leer en el otro.

¿Por qué estás viendo esto?

Flecha

Tu suscripción se está usando en otro dispositivo y solo puedes acceder a EL PAÍS desde un dispositivo a la vez.

Si quieres compartir tu cuenta, cambia tu suscripción a la modalidad Premium, así podrás añadir otro usuario. Cada uno accederá con su propia cuenta de email, lo que os permitirá personalizar vuestra experiencia en EL PAÍS.

En el caso de no saber quién está usando tu cuenta, te recomendamos cambiar tu contraseña aquí.

Si decides continuar compartiendo tu cuenta, este mensaje se mostrará en tu dispositivo y en el de la otra persona que está usando tu cuenta de forma indefinida, afectando a tu experiencia de lectura. Puedes consultar aquí los términos y condiciones de la suscripción digital.

Archivado En

Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
Recomendaciones EL PAÍS
_
_