DATE=7/6/98 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT NUMBER=5-40863 TITLE=IRAQIS IN U-S DETENTION BYLINE= ED WARNER DATELINE= WASHINGTON CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: SIX IRAQIS WHO WERE AMONG THE 65-HUNDRED REFUGEES THE UNITED STATES EVACUATED FROM NORTHERN IRAQ IN LATE 1996 ARE IN DETENTION IN THE UNITED STATES. THEY ARE FACING POSSIBLE DEPORTATION BECAUSE THEY ARE CONSIDERED A THREAT TO NATIONAL SECURITY. V-O-A'S ED WARNER REPORTS THE IRAQI'S AND THEIR ATTORNEY, A FORMER CIA DIRECTOR, VEHEMENTLY DENY THIS CHARGE. TEXT: WHEN HE SERVED AS DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, JAMES WOOLSEY HAD ACCESS TO ANY SECRET INFORMATION HE WANTED. NOW, AS A PRIVATE ATTORNEY REPRESENTING A GROUP OF DETAINED IRAQIS, HE IS DENIED CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS. THESE ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, WHICH IN A SECRET HEARING DETERMINED THE IRAQIS ARE A DANGER TO THE UNITED STATES AND SHOULD BE DEPORTED -- POSSIBLY TO IRAQ. THE I-N-S REFUSES TO LET MR. WOOLSEY SEE THE INCRIMINATING MATERIAL, ON THE GROUNDS CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES MIGHT BE REVEALED AND COMPROMISED. BUT MR. WOOLSEY IS APPEALING THE I-N-S RULING AND SAYS THE IRAQIS HAVE BEEN DENIED BASIC RIGHTS. HE SAYS IF THEY ARE RETURNED TO IRAQ AND ARE GENUINE OPPONENTS OF IRAQI LEADER SADDAM HUSSEIN, AS THEY SAY, THEY WOULD FACE CERTAIN EXECUTION. MR. WOOLSEY IS IN TOUCH WITH ZAKAI HAQI, THE MOTHER OF ONE OF THE DETAINEES: // WOOLSEY ACT // MRS. HAQUI WAS HERE IN MY OFFICE A FEW WEEKS AGO, CRYING ON MY SHOULDER, SAYING THAT IF THEY ARE GOING TO KILL MY SON, PLEASE HAVE HIM KILLED HERE SO I CAN BE NEAR HIS GRAVE. DO NOT SEND HIM BACK TO SADDAM HUSSEIN. // END ACT // MR. WOOLSEY SAYS HER SON, ALI YASSIN MOHAMMED-KARIM, HARDLY FITS THE PICTURE OF A DOUBLE AGENT. HE IS A KURDISH PHYSICIAN WHO BECAME AN EXPERT ON TREATING VICTIMS OF THALLIUM POISONING, WHICH HAS BEEN USED BY SADDAM HUSSEIN FOR ASSASSINATIONS. AS A MEMBER OF THE IRAQI NATIONAL CONGRESS, A LEADING OPPOSITION GROUP, DR. ALI HAS MADE NUMEROUS BROADCASTS ATTACKING SADDAM HUSSEIN AND HAS SURVIVED TWO ATTEMPTS ON HIS LIFE. FORMER C-I-A DIRECTOR WOOLSEY SAYS HIS CLIENTS RAN INTO TROUBLE DURING INTERROGATIONS BY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. MR. WOOLSEY SAYS F-B-I AGENTS MADE SERIOUS MISTAKES BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE MIDDLE EAST: // WOOLSEY ACT // ONE OF THEM WAS VERY SUSPICIOUS BECAUSE A KURDISH REFUGEE CLAIMED HE HAD VISITED KURDISH RELATIVES IN BAGHDAD, AND THE F-B-I AGENT WROTE DOWN THAT THIS MUST BE FALSE BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE KURDS LIVE IN NORTHERN IRAQ, NOT IN BAGHDAD. THAT IS GENERALLY TRUE, BUT THERE ARE SOME KURDS WHO LIVE IN BAGHDAD, SO A LITTLE LEARNING IS A DANGEROUS THING. // END ACT // MR. WOOLSEY SAYS THE C-I-A HAS NO DEROGATORY INFORMATION ON THE IRAQIS, AND THE C-I-A OFFICER IN NORTHERN IRAQ WHO KNEW THEM BELIEVES THEY ARE NOT DOUBLE AGENTS. GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE, PAUL VIRTUE, POINTS TO THE LARGE NUMBER OF IRAQIS WHO WERE SCREENED AND GIVEN ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES. HE SAYS ONLY A SMALL NUMBER WERE HELD UP: // VIRTUE ACT // IF WE HAD HAD THE LUXURY OF SCREENING THE PEOPLE WHILE THEY WERE IN TURKEY, THEN WE PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAVE BROUGHT THE SIX, WHO ARE IN PROCEEDINGS IN LOS ANGELES NOW, TO THE UNITED STATES. BUT WE SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY. TURKEY WAS CLOSING UP SHOP ON US. W E NEEDED TO GET OUT WITHIN HOURS. SO WE HAD TO DO THAT SCREENING IN THE UNITED STATES. // END ACT // MR. VIRTUE SAYS THE IRAQIS, WHILE CONFINED, ARE IN NO IMMEDIATE DANGER OF BEING DEPORTED, AND BECAUSE THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT HAVE DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH IRAQ, THEY CANNOT BE SENT THERE. THEIR APPEALS ARE UNDER WAY, AND THE I-N-S SAYS IT PLANS TO RELEASE SOME CLASSIFIED INFORMATION THAT MAY LEAD TO FURTHER HEARINGS. (SIGNED) NEB/RAE 06-Jul-98 11:20 AM EDT (1520 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .