Hambali abettor faces six-year jail term<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Muhammad Saefuddin, an accomplice of alleged terror plotter
\nHambali, should be given a six-year jail term, prosecutors at the
\nCentral Jakarta District Court said.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin, a former Indonesian student at the Abu Bakar
\nIslamic University in Karachi, Pakistan, had been involved in
\nterrorist activities in Indonesia, prosecutor A.A. Welang told
\nthe trial.<\/p>\n
He said the defendant was charged for giving Hambali updated
\ninformation on Indonesia, particularly in its conflict areas such
\nas Ambon and Poso in Central Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
Hambali, who police say is a key leader of the regional Jamaah
\nIslamiyah terror group, has been blamed for masterminding a
\nseries of bombings in the country, including the Bali blasts that
\nkilled 202 people and the JW Marriott Hotel attack, which claimed
\n13 lives.<\/p>\n
He was arrested in Thailand in August 2003 and is currently
\nbeing detained in U.S. custody.<\/p>\n
Welang, who read the charge, said Saefuddin met Hambali in
\nAfghanistan in 2001, while he knew that the latter was wanted by
\nthe Indonesian police for his suspected involvement in the
\nChristmas church bombings in 2000.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin was also charged with recruiting Indonesian students
\nin Pakistan to join military training in Afghanistan for
\nterrorist purposes, the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
The defendant was a member of the al-Ghuraba study group of
\nIndonesian and Malaysian students in Karachi, which had
\nundertaken paramilitary training in terrorism while in
\nAfghanistan.<\/p>\n
The training held at the al-Faruq Camp taught new recruits
\nbomb making, map reading and how to use AK-47, M-16, Uzzi and
\nMacarov automatic rifles.<\/p>\n
Saefuddin was arrested in Karachi along with three other
\nIndonesian students -- Gun Gun Rusman Gunawan, Ilham Sopandi and
\nFurqon Abdullah -- in September. Also rounded up at the time were
\n13 Malaysian and two Myanmarese students.<\/p>\n
The four Indonesian students were deported to Jakarta in
\nDecember last year for interrogation at the National Police
\nHeadquarters.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said the al-Ghuraba study group was established by
\nGun Gun, with the support from his elder brother Hambali, to
\ncreate more militant recruits for terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
The militants were taught Islam must be protected from its
\nenemies -- Jews, Communists and the United States -- by any means
\npossible, including the use of suicide bombings, prosecutors
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
In a separate trial on Monday, Gun Gun accused the United
\nStates of playing a role in his arrest.<\/p>\n
\"We are only victims of American paranoia,\" he said in his
\ndefense plea.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hambali-abettor-faces-six-year-jail-term-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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