VZCZCXRO2676
RR RUEHAG RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHDF #0006 0281417
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281417Z JAN 08
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0112
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0128
UNCLAS DUSSELDORF 000006
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR ISN, PM, EUR, AND NEA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETTC KNNP PARM KJUS KISL PTER KPAO KVPR IZ GM
SUBJECT: COURT FINES BUSINESSMAN FOR ILLEGAL EXPORTS OF MILITARY
GOODS TO IRAQ
REF: DUESSELDORF 4
Sensitive but Unclassified -- Not for Internet Distribution
1. (U) After a month-long trial (reftel), the Essen Regional
Court on January 25 found Aso Salih Koyie guilty of having
violated section 34 of the German Foreign Trade and Payments Law
(restrictions on the export of military goods) through the 2004
delivery to Iraq of 78 power generating sets formerly used by
the German Army. The Iraqi-born businessman was sentenced to a
3,500 fine: 2,400 for tax evasion (imposed earlier by the
German tax authorities for this deal), and 1,100 for violating
export control restrictions. The court declined prosecutor's
request for a suspended prison sentence of two years. The
defense pleaded for acquittal.
2. (U) The presiding judge called the sentence a "moderate
fine," going to great lengths to list extenuating circumstances
that included: the defendant's lack of a criminal record; his
stated intention to use the goods solely for humanitarian
purposes; and that the material did not comprise weapons
systems, but "obsolete technical support equipment." The main
reason for the lenient sentence, however, was that German
customs officials had not been vigilant in stopping the exports,
the judge stated. For example, after the defendant had
difficulty obtaining the necessary papers at one customs office
in Dueren, North Rhine-Westphalia, he went to another in Essen,
which provided the necessary stamp. The state prosecutor also
criticized this in his concluding statement. (Note: While the
defendant managed to obtain a stamp from customs, he did not
receive a license from BAFA, the Bundesamt fuer Wirtschaft
Ausfuhrkontrolle. End Note).
3. (SBU) After the trial, the presiding judge explained to us
that the German legal system must take the income situation of a
defendant into account if s/he is fined by a court. The low
fine in this case was therefore also due to the defendant's
allegedly current poor economic situation, which also caused the
court to allow the defendant to pay the fine in monthly
installments of 100. (Note: He drove away in a late model
Volvo and members of his family present in the courtroom were
dressed expensively. End Note.) The defense lawyer told us his
client was pleased with the outcome, and that he would not
appeal the court's decision. The public prosecutor was not
available for comment.
4. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin.
BOYSE