Activist arrest protested
Activist arrest protested
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A Muslim organization has protested the recent arrest of 13
activists whom the police have allegedly linked with terrorists
and a string of terrorist attacks in the country.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) said it was upset by the
arrests, claimed that they were done without proper procedures
while a Muslim politician strongly urged the police to present
evidence that the detainees were linked to terrorists.
MUI deputy chairman Amidhan called the arrest illegal, saying
the government was reviving the (former president Soeharto's) old
regime, which arrested many activists and dissidents arbitrarily.
"The arrests are similar to the way the former New Order
regime arrested activists with the draconian subversion law as
its legal basis," said Amidhan when receiving the detained
activists' wives and other relatives at the MUI headquarters here
on Tuesday.
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar revealed in a hearing
with the House of Representatives' Commission I that the police
had recently detained the 13 activists for their alleged links
with terrorists and the recent bomb attacks on the basis of
information from reliable sources.
Da'i also stressed that the arrest was legal because besides
issuing warrants before the arrest, the 2003 antiterrorism law
allows the police to arrest terrorist suspects and detain them
for a week.
But he did not say whether the police gave notification to the
district court before the arrest.
Amid the mounting protests, the police nabbed three more
people in the Central Java capital of Semarang for their alleged
involvement in the Jamaah Islamiyah terror network.
None of the Central Java Police officers were available for
comment, but Antara quoted a credible source as saying the latest
person to be arrested was only identified as BT, a lecturer at a
university in Semarang, SB, a Jakarta resident and PM, a
Malaysian national.
The source said they had been flown to Jakarta.
The three people were arrested in connection with the seizure
of explosives and ammunition on Jl. Sri Redjeki in West Semarang
recently.
The police also faced strong resistance from the Islamic
community Central Java when they arrested Indonesian Mudjahidin
Council (MMI) Chairman Abu Bakar Ba'asyir last October. Ba'asyir
was recently sentenced to four years imprisonment for immigration
offenses and links to treason.
Mahendradatta, a lawyer appointed by the families to accompany
the 13 detainees, said in the meeting that their wives met the
MUI leaders, not to interfere with the police investigation into
their husbands, but to ask what would be considered excessive
regarding those arrests.
"The families have nothing to do with terrorism, but they have
been labeled as terrorist families following the arrest," he
said.
During the meeting, the wives of seven detainees were also
accompanied by activists from MMI.
The wives expressed their deep disappointment with the police
and contradicted D'ai's statement by saying there were no
warrants.
Desi Puspita, one of the seven wives, said that she knew about
the police arrest of her husband only after he had been missing
for five days.
Aminah, another wife, questioned the legality of it all.
According to her, her husband was arrested only because he
often spoke at the mosque where the Bali bombing suspects
attended Friday prayers.
"The arrest was strange, my husband has several times told his
audience that he opposes terrorism," she said, recalling her
husband's speeches.
House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said in the Southeast Sulawesi
provincial capital of Kendari that he would ask the House's
Commission II on home affairs and security to speak with the
police leadership on the matter.
He said the police should make it very clear to the public
about the arrests to prevent any more confusion.