Witnesses give new insight into JI network in Indonesia<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Three witnesses provided on Wednesday new insights into the
\nJamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network in the country but did not
\nlink suspected JI leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to charges over
\ntreason and document forgery.<\/p>\n
Mubarok, alias Hutomo Pamungkas, said that he came to know the
\norganization in the North Sulawesi capital of Manado in 1998
\nafter he spent several years in Pakistan and Malaysia to learn
\nIslamic studies.<\/p>\n
He, who was previously a student of Ba'asyir in his boarding
\nschool in Central Java, said that he was recruited by Mustafa who
\nhad just arrived from Malaysia.<\/p>\n
\"He (Mustafa) told me that he was the mantiqi three,\" Mubarok
\ntold the court, referring to the organization's term for an area
\nleader.<\/p>\n
Mustafa, whose whereabouts is unknown, told him about the
\nstructure of the organization.<\/p>\n
\"The leader is Abdullah Sungkar. There are three mantiqi under
\nhim,\" said Mubarok, who said that he once was a wakalah --
\nanother term for a leader in the organization at a lower level.<\/p>\n
In 1999, he said that he met a man called Zulkarnaen alias
\nDaud. The man told him that he was his subordinate.<\/p>\n
\"He also said that he would take me and colleagues to Ba'asyir
\nas he has a direct relationship with the ustadz,\" Mubarok said,
\nreferring to Ba'asyir.<\/p>\n
Zulkarnaen is currently at large.<\/p>\n
Mubarok said yes when a judge asked him if the organization
\nwas a secret one.<\/p>\n
When the judge asked him whether Ba'asyir was the Jamaah
\nIslamiyah amir or leader, he replied, \"You could say so.\"<\/p>\n
Later, he met Fahim, another wakalah covering the Surabaya
\narea who told him about the replacement of Abdullah Sungkar, the
\nfirst head of JI.<\/p>\n
Mubarok was silent for a moment when a judge asked him about
\nthe person who replaced Sungkar.<\/p>\n
\"Abu Bakar Ba'asyir,\" he said, when a judge reminded him that
\nhe was under oath.<\/p>\n
Another witness, Ali Imron, also testified that he believed
\nBa'asyir had became head of JI following Sungkar's death in 1999.<\/p>\n
\"As far as I know, his (Sungkar's) successor was Abu Bakar
\nBa'asyir,\" said Imron.<\/p>\n
However, at another point in his testimony, Imron said he was
\nunsure who led the group.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir denied the testimony, \"It's not true.\"<\/p>\n
Later in the day, another witness Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas
\ntold the court that he knew Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-
\nQaeda terrorist network, well.<\/p>\n
JI, which is blamed for the Bali bombings that killed 202
\npeople last October and for a string of other blasts in the
\ncountry, is said to have links with al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
Ghufron is said to be JI's operations chief.<\/p>\n
Asked by one of the judges if he knew Osama, Ghufron replied
\nsaid: \"Yes, I know him well.\"<\/p>\n
But he said that Osama did not assist his activities.<\/p>\n
Ghufron admitted he had taken over from a man called Hambali,
\nthe alleged former JI operations chief, after Hambali was forced
\nto flee Malaysia.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know what mantiqi is. But I replaced Hambali,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Imam Samudra, meanwhile, said that Ba'asyir had never ordered
\nany bombing and labeled his preaching \"boring\".<\/p>\n
\"It's the age of the Internet but he still talked about
\nmysticism while Muslims were being slaughtered,\" said Imam, who
\ndenied any relationship with JI.<\/p>\n
The four witnesses are the main suspects of the Bali bombings.<\/p>\n
All of them also admitted that they had visited Malaysia,
\nPakistan and Afghanistan over several years and that they were
\ninvolved in several bombings in the country since 2000.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors have accused Ba'asyir of committing treason by
\nleading the network and for his involvement in incidents ranging
\nfrom a plot to kill President Megawati Soekarnoputri when she was
\nvice president to a string of church bombings in 2000.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/witnesses-give-new-insight-into-ji-network-in-indonesia-1447893297",
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