Deported students funded terrorist attacks, police say<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Four students recently deported from Pakistan financed terrorist
\nactivities across the country and provided training for
\nterrorists, police investigators said on Friday.<\/p>\n
"They helped and supported terror suspects with funds and
\ntraining. We will find out how much and from where they got the
\nmoney," said National Police Anti-Terror Division chief Brig.
\nGen. Pranowo.<\/p>\n
He, however, did not say which terrorist suspects or attacks
\nthe students financed. Neither did he reveal the amount of money
\nthose students passed on.<\/p>\n
One of the four students, Rusmawan Gunawan, alias Gun Gun,
\ntold Pakistani authorities earlier that he had sent US$50,000 and
\ntelecommunications device to his brother Riduan Isamuddin alias
\nHambali, an Indonesian-born terrorist suspect.<\/p>\n
The three other students were identified as Mohammad
\nSyaifudin, Ilham Sofandi and Furqon Abdullah. The four of them
\nwere declared suspects on Thursday evening and are being held
\nunder Law No. 15\/2003 on terrorism.<\/p>\n
Pakistan deported six Indonesian students on Dec. 11 for
\nviolations of immigration laws and possible involvement in
\nterrorist activities. Two others, David Pintarto and Muhammad
\nAnwar As-Shaddaqi, were released on Tuesday due to lack of
\nevidence linking them with any crimes here.<\/p>\n
Hambali is the alleged leader of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), a
\nSoutheast Asia terrorist network blamed for a string of terrorist
\nattacks in the region, including the Bali bombings on Oct. 12,
\n2002 and the JW Marriott Hotel attack in Jakarta on Aug. 5, 2003.<\/p>\n
Believed to be Osama bin Laden's point man in Southeast Asia,
\nHambali was arrested in Thailand in August and is currently in
\nU.S. custody at an undisclosed location.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Thursday
\nafternoon that the students only had an indirect role in the
\nbombings because they were in Pakistan at the time.<\/p>\n
He also emphasized the importance of interrogating Hambali
\ndirectly so that the police could find out the links between
\nthem.<\/p>\n
"We have tried hard enough to get access to Hambali from the
\nU.S. government, either access to him or his dossier. But we
\nhaven't had a reply from the U.S," Da'i stated.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, one of the students' lawyers, Munarman, said on
\nFriday that they still considered the detention illegal because
\nit was not in accordance with existing laws, especially Law No.
\n8\/1981 on arrest procedures and the Criminal Code Procedure
\n(KUHAP).<\/p>\n
"First of all, we and the students' families haven't received
\nany letters from the police yet. Secondly, If there is Pakistani
\nintelligence evidence linking the students to terrorists, then
\nthe evidence can't be used here in Indonesia," said Munarman.<\/p>\n
He also said that police should have submitted the
\nintelligence evidence to a local court prior to the arrest, not
\nduring the detention.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has been rocked by some powerful terrorist attacks
\nsuch as the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, which killed over 200
\npeople and injured over 300 others, and the JW Marriot Hotel
\nattacks in South Jakarta on Aug. 5, 2003, killing at least 14
\npeople, including the suicide bomber.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/deported-students-funded-terrorist-attacks-police-say-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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