Police asked to set Ba'asyir free<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In a move seen as attempting to influence the legal process, a
\nnumber of legislators of Muslim-based parties submitted on Friday
\na letter asking the police to temporarily release terrorist
\nsuspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir from detention.<\/p>\n
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that the police
\nheadquarters \"was considering all the consequences\" of honoring
\nsuch a request, while a criminal law expert said the request
\nshould be ignored.<\/p>\n
The legislators \"guaranteed\" that the cleric would not flee.
\nEarlier, party leaders, including Hidayat Nurwahid of the
\nProsperous Justice Party (PKS), had also asked for Ba'asyir's
\ntemporary release.<\/p>\n
After serving 18 months in jail for immigration offenses and
\ndocument forgery, Ba'asyir was released from Salemba Penitentiary
\non April 30 but was immediately rearested. Police had cited
\nevidence that he had presided over an inauguration ceremony at
\nthe Hudaibiyah military camp run by Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) in
\nMindanao, southern Philippines, on April 1, 2000.<\/p>\n
They also said he had installed a JI branch leader in
\nSurakarta in April 2002, a task entrusted only to a JI leader.<\/p>\n
JI is on the United Nations' list of organizations linked to
\nthe al-Qaeda terrorist network, and is blamed for the October
\n2002 Bali blasts and the August 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir has maintained silence during police questioning,
\nsaying that the police are only carrying out the will of the
\nUnited States, which he claims indiscriminately targets Muslims
\nin its war on terror.<\/p>\n
The legislators who wrote to Da'i were Muthamiul Ula and
\nMashadi of the PKS, Achmad Sumargono and Hamdan Zoelfa of the
\nCrescent Star Party (PBB), Jusuf Muhammad of the National
\nAwakening Party (PKB) and Patrialis Akbar of the National Mandate
\nParty (PAN).<\/p>\n
However, a professor of criminal law, Harkristuti Harkrisnowo,
\nsaid that the move could be seen as intervention in the legal
\nprocess because the police would feel pressured to address the
\nproblem. \"According to the law, only family members, lawyers or
\nthe detainees are allowed to request a temporary release from
\ndetention,\" Harkristuti said.<\/p>\n
Jafar Assegaf, the head of Ba'asyir's team of lawyers, said as
\nmuch public support was needed before the lawyers could submit a
\nrequest for temporary release.<\/p>\n
\"House members are respectable citizens who have the power to
\ninfluence the police,\" said Jafar.<\/p>\n
On the day of his rearrest, hundreds of the cleric's
\nsupporters clashed with police outside the prison. Other protests
\noccurred outside Jakarta, the most violent being one Makassar,
\nSouth Sulawesi, last Saturday.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir was initially sentenced to four years for involvement
\nin an alleged JI plot to overthrow the government but the court
\nsaid it was not convinced that he actually led the network.<\/p>\n
An appeal court overturned the conviction but sentenced
\nBa'asyir to three years in prison on immigration-related
\noffenses. The Supreme Court halved that sentence last month.<\/p>\n
When asked after Friday prayers whether he would request to be
\nreleased, Ba'asyir said that it was the \"Muslim community in
\ngeneral,\" not himself, who was making the request.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-asked-to-set-baasyir-free-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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