Indonesian terror suspect fights deportation ordered by Malaysian
\ngovernment<\/p>\n
Jasbant Singh
\nAssociated Press
\nKuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
A suspected leader of the Jamaah Islamiyah militant group who has
\nbeen freed from prison in Malaysia is fighting government plans
\nto deport him to Indonesia, his family and lawyer said on
\nTuesday.<\/p>\n
After detaining him without trial on security grounds for two
\nyears, the Malaysian government ordered the release of Mohamad
\nIqbal Abdul Rahman last month and revoked his permanent residency
\nstatus to enable him to be deported back to his home country,
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Confusion has surrounded the release. The government has given
\nno reason why he was freed -- though the possibility of a
\nbureaucratic error has been raised -- or what was delaying the
\ndeportation after his residency papers were revoked Aug. 18.<\/p>\n
Indonesia has no charges outstanding against Iqbal, but has
\nsaid he will be questioned on any links with various bombings
\nthere if he returns to the country.<\/p>\n
Malaysian immigration authorities confirmed on Thursday that
\nIqbal was still being held at a facility in Kuala Lumpur awaiting
\ndeportation, but declined to say if the expulsion was facing any
\nholdup.<\/p>\n
Iqbal's lawyer, Latifah Koya, said her client was seeking a
\nHigh Court order against the government's decision to revoke his
\npermanent residence status. No hearing date has been fixed.<\/p>\n
"My client feels that the government's decision to revoke his
\npermanent residence status is unfair as he was not given a chance
\nto explain his side of the story," she told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n
If Iqbal wins the decision, the deportation order would become
\ninvalid and allow him to remain in Malaysia, Latifah said.<\/p>\n
Malaysian officials say Iqbal, 46, is an Islamic cleric who
\ncame to Malaysia in the mid-1980s along with other Indonesians,
\nincluding alleged Jamaah Islamiyah leaders Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and
\nHambali, or Riduan Isamuddin, and began teaching a radical
\nversion of the faith.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir, a radical Muslim preacher, was convicted of treason
\nby a Jakarta court this month and sentenced to four years
\nimprisonment.<\/p>\n
Hambali, who was arrested in Thailand last month and is in
\nU.S. custody, allegedly masterminded last year's Bali nightclub
\nblasts, which killed 202 people, and the attack on the JW
\nMarriott Hotel in Jakarta last month, which killed 12.<\/p>\n
Hambali allegedly became more prominent in Jamaah Islamiyah
\nafter Iqbal was arrested in June 2001 in Malaysia during a sweep
\nof alleged members of the Malaysian Militant Group, or KMM.<\/p>\n
The KMM has been determined to be a component of Jamaah
\nIslamiyah, which seeks to establish a pan-Islamic state in
\nSoutheast Asia and has strong links to al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
Iqbal's release gave hope to other detainees that they might
\nbe freed after serving their initial two-year arrest orders under
\nthe Internal Security Act, which provides for indefinite
\ndetention without trial.<\/p>\n
But on Tuesday, the government extended the imprisonment of
\nnine other suspected militants for another two years.<\/p>\n
Iqbal's wife, Fatimah Zahrah Abdul Aziz, denied her husband
\nhad links with terror groups or had carried out any militant
\nactivities. She is still in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
"He is a religious preacher, that's all," she told The
\nAssociated Press. "We have lived in this country for so many
\nyears and I hope we can continue to stay here."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-terror-suspect-fights-deportation-ordered-by-malaysian-1447899208",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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