Jihad chief changes mind, continues police lawsuit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The commander of Laskar Jihad Ahlus Sunnah Wal
\nJammaah, Ja'far Umar Thalib, retracted on Friday his offer to
\ncancel his lawsuit against the police for unlawful arrest
\nfollowing failed negotiations with the police.<\/p>\n
At a hearing in a pretrial motion concerning his arrest,
\nJa'far's lawyers told the South Jakarta District Court that their
\nclient would continue with the lawsuit against the National
\nPolice due to failed negotiations.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Wirawan Adnan told the court that during talks his
\nclient and the police had failed to find common ground, and
\ntherefore his client would proceed with the lawsuit against the
\npolice.<\/p>\n
Another lawyer for Ja'far, Soleh Amin, announced during a
\nbreak in the pretrial hearing that there would be no deal with
\nthe police.<\/p>\n
He said the decision to press on with the lawsuit against the
\npolice was made by Ja'far together with his litigation lawyers
\nled by Eggy Sudjana and non-litigation lawyers led by legislator
\nHartono Mardjono.<\/p>\n
During the break, Ja'far also explained to reporters that
\ngoing ahead with his lawsuit over his arrest would be the best
\nway to resolve the matter.<\/p>\n
\"My team of lawyers has left the decision to me. And after
\nconducting the istikharah (prayer asking for God's guidance), I
\ndecided to continue with the lawsuit,\" Ja'far said.<\/p>\n
The court on Thursday granted Ja'far a day to meet with
\nNational Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro to attempt to reach
\nan out-of-court settlement.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Ja'far was confident that the police would drop
\nthe charges against him and would change the status of his arrest
\nfrom house to city arrest.<\/p>\n
Ja'far was arrested for allegedly inciting religious hostility
\nand ordering the murder of one of his followers, who was stoned
\nto death in Maluku for adultery. He argued that such punishment
\nwas stipulated in Islamic law.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi
\nsaid on Friday that the police had no problem with Ja'far suing
\nthe National Police.<\/p>\n
\"Our job is to continue our investigations into the murder
\ncharge and that of sowing hatred against a religion. The National
\nPolice will not compromise on this issue ... we never will,\" Didi
\nannounced at National Police Headquarters.<\/p>\n
\"Let the courts decide on the matter of the lawsuit. Hukum
\nrajam (a ruling of death by stoning) is considered murder
\naccording to prevailing regulations ... there is no valid reason
\nfor police to stop investigating the murder.\"<\/p>\n
Ja'far is suing the police over his May 4 arrest, which
\nJa'far's legal team describes as unlawful because the arrest was
\nnot proceeded with two summons as required by law.<\/p>\n
National Police legal counsel Sr. Comr. Soeyitno said in his
\nargument that the police did not have to issue two investigation
\nsummons before arresting the leader of the hard-line Muslim group
\nbecause they already had enough evidence to arrest him.<\/p>\n
\"The arrest was based on the police's preliminary
\ninvestigation and not because we caught him red-handed. We
\ncomplied with the proper procedure, therefore we asked the court
\nto declare the arrest lawful,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The police provided written statements from 39 witnesses to be
\nread out in the hearing, while Ja'far's team of lawyers presented
\nfive witnesses, including the plaintiff's brother-in-law Abdul
\nGofar Mahdan.<\/p>\n
Abdul Gofar testified that he was with Ja'far and Laskar Jihad
\nmember Mohamad Irgi when Ja'far was arrested on May 4 at Juanda
\nAirport in Surabaya, the capital of East Java.<\/p>\n
He said that five plainclothes detectives showed Ja'far the
\narrest warrant and forced him to go with them.<\/p>\n
\"Ja'far replied that he was not a fugitive and he would go in
\na gentlemanly manner to meet their superior. But the police got
\nin Ja'far's Panther minivan and took the driver's seat. We sat in
\nthe front passenger's seat, while three of the policemen sat in
\nthe back.\"<\/p>\n
The hearing was adjourned until Monday. (bby\/ylt)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jihad-chief-changes-mind-continues-police-lawsuit-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }