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FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5739
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 6293
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TRIPOLI 000078
SIPDIS
STATE FOR NEA/MAG. COMMERCE FOR NATE MASON.
E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/27/2020 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAID ECON CVIS PINR LY
SUBJECT: SENIOR LIBYAN JUSTICE OFFICIAL: LESS TALK, MORE ACTION IS BEST TRIPOLI 00000078 001.2 OF 002
CLASSIFIED BY: Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy Tripoli, Department of State. REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)
1. (C) Summary: Libya's Justice Minister-equivalent, Mustafa Mohammad Abduljalil, told the Ambassador on January 25 that
as Libya opens its economy to other countries, it needs international assistance in developing its private sector and
strengthening the commercial legal environment. The Ambassador thanked Abduljalil for his support of the USG-funded
Commercial Law Development Program's (CLDP) work in Libya, including securing visas for the recent second visit to Libya
of a U.S. federal judge and the CLDP program manager. Abduljalil said an upcoming February trip to the U.S. of three
Libyan judges (at the invitation of CLDP) would provide the Libyans with new ideas and generate proposals for future
cooperation. Abduljalil said Libya's reform of its Criminal Code had moved to the General People's Congress (Libya's
parliament-equivalent) for discussion. While Abduljalil has given the green light to his staff to work with us, he noted
that many Libyans are still "concerned" about the USG's support for Israel, and that terrorism stems from the perception
that Europe and the U.S. are "against" Muslims. End Summary.
POSITIVE COOPERATION IN COMMERCIAL LAW PROGRAMS
2. (C) On January 25, the Ambassador (accompanied by econoff) met for the first time with Mustafa Mohammad Abduljalil,
Secretary of the General People's Committee for Justice (Minister of Justice-equivalent). The Ambassador stressed the
importance of a sound commercial legal environment to Libya's economic development. He noted that CLDP is an example of
the type of bilateral program that can improve the legal environment, and thanked the Secretary for his help in
obtaining Libyan visas for the U.S. participants of recent CLDP workshops. Abduljalil expressed his own support for the
CLDP programs and bilateral cooperation in general, stating that "less talk and more action is best" when it comes to
moving the relationship forward.
3. (C) The Ambassador previewed for Abduljalil the upcoming CLDP-sponsored trip to New York and Washington of three
Libyan judicial officials. Abduljalil said that as Libya was now opening up its economy and developing a private sector,
it needed to strengthen its commercial laws, and that such trips to the U.S. would provide the Libyans with new ideas.
This was "essential" as, after many years of sanctions and international isolation, the Libyans know very little about
the U.S. system of government. He said they were also interested in discussing a system for prisoner exchange to provide
for the repatriation of Libyans imprisoned in the U.S. and for U.S. citizens in Libyan prisons. (Note: We are not aware
of any Americans currently in Libyan prisons. End note.) He said Libya had negotiated such agreements with other
countries and hoped to do the same with the U.S. He would ask the three officials to write a report after their upcoming
trip, including proposals for other areas of cooperation.
STATUS OF LIBYA'S CRIMINAL LAW REFORM PROJECT
4. (C) Abduljalil said the GOL has been working on reforming Libya's Criminal Code for 4-5 years and that the revised
legislation is currently being discussed in the General People's Congress. He noted that Libya is trying to incorporate
alternatives to prison sentences for some crimes, including a system for imposing fines instead of jail-time, as well as
community service. Ideally, the death penalty would be a sentence reserved only in cases of murder, he explained.
Regarding other penalties, such as charges brought against those who speak against the government, Abduljalil maintained
that Libyans could "say anything they wanted" in the forum of the General People's Congress. He insisted that
journalists were free to write anything they chose, provided they did not make personal accusations against anyone
(i.e., slander).
FROM CRIMINALS TO ISRAEL: JUDGE ACCUSES U.S., EUROPE OF BEING AGAINST ISLAM
5. (C) In the course of the discussion of the Criminal Code, Abduljalil abruptly changed the subject from freedom of
speech to the "Libyan people's concern about the U.S. government's support for Israel." He averred that Libya cares
deeply about Muslims everywhere, and about Muslim countries. In his view, the root cause of terrorism stems from the
perception that Europe and the U.S. are against Muslims. He believed that "justice is for everyone," and that if Libya
does not uphold that tenet, then terrorists will find a foothold in Libya. The Ambassador replied that the U.S. is
committed to a positive TRIPOLI 00000078 002.2 OF 002 relationship with the Muslim world, referencing the President's
2009 speech in Cairo. He said it is important to continue the discussion of sensitive topics in order to develop a
mature relationship between our two countries. Through the Human Rights Dialogue (HRD), the U.S. hopes to continue the
discussion with Libya on such topics in a discreet, mutually respectful manner, which Abduljalil appeared to appreciate.
The Ambassador gave Abduljalil a copy of the diplomatic note proposing the HRD working groups and invited his input.
BIO NOTE AND COMMENT
6. (C) Abduljalil was named Secretary of the General People's Committee for Justice in January 2007. He does not speak
English, and spoke only Arabic in our meeting. According to a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), he has
expressed reformist ideas about eliminating corruption within the GOL and bringing security organizations in line with
the rule of law. In HRW's assessment, Abduljalil's drive to change the system is driven more by his conservative point
of view rather than a reformist agenda. According to his staff and several judges, he is well-regarded and considered to
be fair. The Ambassador's initial meeting with Abduljalil was positive and encouraging. Through his staff, including
Director of International Cooperation Kamal al-Bahri, Abduljalil has demonstrated an interest in working with us on the
Commercial Law Development Program over the past year and a willingness to allow his staff to communicate with emboffs
outside of official channels. This was evidenced by his securing visa approvals for visiting CLDP officials. (Note: His
organization seems to have a parallel track in securing visa approvals, bypassing Protocol and the MFA, as the Embassy
received the approval numbers for the CLDP visitors directly from the GPC for Justice and not through the MFA as usual;
in fact, the visas for the two CLDP visitors are among the very few USG visas we have received in the past few months.
End note.) The next step will be to continue the discussion of how we can work with the GPC for Justice in other, more
sensitive areas, such as the Human Rights Dialogue. We also committed to providing the Minister with U.S. laws and
explanations showing how we handled the issues of free association and free speech balanced against the security needs
of the nation. End comment. CRETZ