Police charge 11 suspects with terror activities<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Surakarta<\/p>\n
The National Police announced on Tuesday that 11 out of 17
\nalleged terrorists arrested last week had been officially charged
\nas suspects in relation to a string of terror activities around the
\ncountry, including the deadly bomb blast in front of the
\nAustralian Embassy in Jakarta last year.<\/p>\n
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko D.A. told
\nreporters that the suspects, who were apprehended in Central Java
\nand Jakarta, would be charged under the Antiterrorism Law (No.
\n15\/2003), which carries a maximum penalty of death.<\/p>\n
Nine of the 11 were apprehended in Surakarta and neighboring
\nWonogiri in Central Java, while the other two were arrested in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
"We have issued arrest warrants and they have been detained,"
\nSoenarko said.<\/p>\n
Soenarko refused to divulge the full names of the suspects,
\ngiving only their initials and their alleged roles in terrorist
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
The first two suspects, who were captured in Jakarta, were
\nidentified as IH and EK.<\/p>\n
They allegedly provided the detonating leads and TNT
\n(trinitrotoluene) for the bomb attack in front of the Australian
\nEmbassy in September 2004, which killed 10, including the suicide
\nbomber, and injured some 180 people.<\/p>\n
Three other suspects were held in Central Java -- UP, DC and
\nJT -- on charges of harboring two Malaysian fugitives, Azahari
\nbin Husin and Noordin Mohd. Top as well as supplying materials
\nfor a series of bomb attacks around the country. The two
\nMalaysians are the reputed top leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, a
\nregional terror group linked to Al Qaeda.<\/p>\n
Four suspects -- JT, JS, MI and HS -- were charged with aiding
\nand abetting terrorists, including providing transportation and
\nfinancing.<\/p>\n
Soenarko also revealed that the last two suspects, HM and FP,
\nwere suspects in the murder of prosecutor Ferry Silalahi last
\nyear in conflict-prone Palu, Central Sulawesi. Ferry was shot
\ndead in his car after leaving a house where he had attended an
\nevening religious service.<\/p>\n
"As for the other six people that haven't been declared
\nsuspects yet, they are still being interrogated," Soenarko said.<\/p>\n
Police have arrested scores of terrorists linked to the
\nbombing incidents in Bali in 2002, the JW Marriott Hotel in
\nJakarta in 2003, and the Australian Embassy in 2004. Three men
\nhave been sentenced to death in relation to the Bali attacks.<\/p>\n
While most of those arrested have been found guilty by the
\ncourts, many have claimed to be innocent.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a family member of one of the recently arrested
\nterrorist suspects said that his brother, Joko Tri Purwanto (one
\nof the two JTs identified by the police), was apprehended last
\nweek after his wife delivered their third child at a Surakarta
\nhospital in Central Java.<\/p>\n
According to Eko, Joko's elder brother, the latter had no
\ncriminal record and was not involved in terrorism. "In fact, he
\nnever leaves home for more than 24 hours," Eko told The Jakarta
\nPost on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He said that the 34-year-old Joko looked after his two cell
\nphone shops in Surakarta, working from 9 a.m until nine in the
\nevening. "Even if he had to go out, it would only be to look for
\nused cell phones to be sold in his shops."<\/p>\n
Eko said he was upset by how the police had handle the case,
\nclaiming that the police did not produce a warrant when arresting
\nhis brother.<\/p>\n
He said that when Joko was arrested, he was carrying some Rp 7
\nmillion (US$737) in cash, which he intended to use to pay the
\nhospital bills of his wife. He feared that the police would
\nclaim that the money was to be used to help finance terrorism.<\/p>",
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