O 231422Z JUL 04 FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0333 C O N F I D E N T I A L BAGHDAD 000230

SUBJECT: USEB 146: ICRC DELIVERS COPIES OF TWO LETTERS REGARDING DETAINEE TREATMENT TO EMBASSY BAGHDAD REF: (A) ICRC letter BAG 04/747, (B) ICRC letter BAG 04/748. (U) CLASSIFIED BY POL-MIL COUNSELOR RONALD E. NEUMANN FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). 1. (C) SUMMARY. On June 20, 2004, International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) Baghdad Head of Delegation Christophe Beney delivered copies of two letters (Refs A and B) to Pol-Mil Minister Ambassador Neumann. Both letters were labeled "Confidential." Both were addressed to General George W. Casey, Commanding General of the MultiNational Force-Iraq (MNF-I), and copied to Ambassador Negroponte. 2. (C) The text of both letters, which detail ICRC concerns regarding MNF-I detainee procedures, is reproduced below. The first letter (Ref A) concerns two Pakistani ICRC interviewees who informed ICRC that they had been transferred to Afghanistan from Iraq while in Coalition custody, in violation of

Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The second letter (Ref B) concerns ICRC objections to the Coalition's provision of timely information regarding detentions and detainees to ICRC officials. END SUMMARY. 3. (C) International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) Baghdad Head of Delegation Christophe Beney delivered copies of two letters (Refs A and B) to Pol-Mil Minister Ambassador Neumann. Both letters are dated July 20, 2004. Both are addressed to Gen. George W. Casey, Commanding General, MNF-I, and both are copied to Ambassador Negroponte and Major General Geoffrey Miller, Deputy Commanding General for Detainee Operations, MNF-I. 4. (C) Begin text of Ref A. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) would like to submit to your attention the following issue of great concern. During an ICRC visit to Camp Bagram Collection Point (BCP) in Afghanistan on 24 to 28 May, 2004, the ICRC met two Pakistani internees who claimed to have been arrested in Iraq at the end of February 2004. These individuals, who identified themselves respectively as Amanullah and Salah Mohammad Ali Al-Hayyan, were allegedly arrested in Baghdad by U.S. forces. They claimed to have been detained for approximately one month in Iraq, presumably in Abu Ghraib, prior to their transfer to BCP at the end of March.

During private interviews with other internees at the time of the 24 to 28 May visit to BCP, the ICRC also received allegations of the detention in Afghanistan of two other persons who had been arrested in Iraq. The concerned individuals were identified to the ICRC as: Abdallah, Saudi, and Hossam, Yemeni, both arrested in March 2004 in Fallujah. Both were allegedly transferred from Iraq to an undisclosed place of detention run by U.S. services in Afghanistan, a place of detention to which ICRC has not been granted access. Both internees were allegedly transferred out of this place to an unknown destination in April 2004. In addition, these four individuals were neither notified to the ICRC in Iraq nor met by the ICRC during the course of its visits there. The ICRC would like to emphasize that Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention (GC IV) prohibits forcible transfers of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country regardless of their motive. The violation of Article 49 constitutes a grave breach of the GC IV, as provided in Article 147 GC IV. The ICRC therefore calls upon U.S. authorities to investigate the circumstances in which this violation could have occurred and to take the necessary measures as required by Article 146 GC IV. The ICRC is deeply concerned for the welfare of internees transferred out of Iraq and recalls its request to be notified in a timely manner of all arrests made there. The ICRC further requests to be informed of the whereabouts of

those who have been transferred to undisclosed locations and asks that it be granted access to them without delay. Copies of this letter are also being provided to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the Commander of the CJTF 180 in Afghanistan. In Washington, copies are being provided to the relevant authorities of the Pentagon, State Department, and National Security Council, in furtherance of the ICRC's dialogue with U.S. authorities on issues of U.S. detention policy and practices. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and remain, Yours sincerely, Christophe Beney, Head of Delegation, ICRC Iraq". End text. 5. (C) Begin text of Ref B. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would like to draw your attention to the following issues of concern. The existing system of notification to the ICRC of persons captured and detained under the control of the U.S. authorities in Iraq has led to instances in which notifications have not always been complete and timely. In some cases, the ICRC discovered that it had not been notified about the capture and internment of

certain individuals, and that such individuals were not presented to the ICRC during its visits to internment facilities in Iraq. Notification should include: the surname, first names, place and date of birth, nationality, place of last residence, distinguishing characteristics, father's first name, mother's maiden name, the date, place, and nature of the action taken with regard to the individual, the address at which correspondence may be sent to him, and the name and address of the internee's contact person. It is also essential that ICRC receives all capture cards correctly completed upon capture, a complete list of the population of each place of internment at the time of each ICRC visit, and, on a weekly basis, a consolidated list of all persons who are held under the responsibility of U.S. authorities for more than 14 days. Appropriate information must also be provided concerning transfers, releases, deaths or escapes. The following examples illustrate the problem of absence or delayed notification of persons deprived of their liberty held by U.S. authorities in Iraq: (1) In its letter BAG-Field 04/184, dated 4 March 2004, addressed to Lieutenant General R. Sanchez, Commander CJTF-7, the ICRC reported the case of three Saudi nationals who were not notified until five weeks after their arrest. The delay of notification was most likely decided by those responsible for

their interrogation. The ICRC still expects a reply from the U.S. authorities on this serious problem of delayed notification. (2) Two Pakistani internees (Amanullah and Salah Mohammed Ali Al-Hayyan) met by the ICRC during a visit to Bagram Collection Point in Afghanistan in May 2004 claimed that they had been interned under U.S. control in Iraq, probably in Abu Ghraib, between February and March 2004. Both internees were eventually transferred to Bagram Collection Point at the end of March. The ICRC has raised the issue of transfers of internees from Iraq to Afghanistan in its letter Bag 07/747, dated July 20. (3) U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated publicly on 17 June 2004 that an internee had been hidden from ICRC in Iraq for seven months. It was only after this announcement, and upon the ICRC's repeated insistence to be provided with the name of this individual, that the U.S. authorities in Iraq informed the ICRC of the identity of the concerned person. A 04 July 2004 letter signed by Major General G. Miller indicated the name as Hiea Abdrumen Rassul currently held in Camp Cropper. With regard to each of these cases, the ICRC is concerned that the lack of notification was not the result of administrative mistakes, but rather a deliberate decision not to allow the ICRC to perform its functions in a satisfactory manner.

Therefore, we respectfully request that you give all the necessary instructions to ensure that the ICRC is notified of all arrests in a timely, reliable, and complete manner. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and remain, Yours sincerely, Christophe Beney, Head of Delegation, ICRC Iraq. End text of Ref B. 6. (C) Post is aware that copies of these letters were made available to Maj. Gen Miller by ICRC Baghdad HoD Beney on June 20, 2004. NEGROPONTE (Edited and reading.) reformatted by Andres for ease of