Al-Ghozi gives evidence on Manila bombing
Al-Ghozi gives evidence on Manila bombing
Agence France-Presse, Manila
A detained Indonesian suspected of being an accomplice of Osama bin Laden Friday made a sworn deposition over his alleged role in a Manila bombing that killed 22 people, Philippine prosecutors said.
Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi said in a sworn affidavit that he gave 250,000 pesos (US$4,882) to a men who was later indicted along with two other suspects in the bomb attack on a railway coach in December 2000.
However, he said he gave the money to a certain Muklis a month before the attack as "financial support" to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a separatist guerrilla group operating in the southern Philippines.
Al-Ghozi said he had no prior knowledge it would be used specifically to bomb Manila's overhead rail system, although he said Muklis told him "of their plan to bomb" and launch attacks in the Philippine capital.
"He (Muklis) asked for financial support. Our boss Fais approved of the plan because of our campaign for jihad in the Philippines," al-Ghozi said in his deposition.
State prosecutors said the Fais mentioned in the document is Fais bin Abu Bakar Bafana, who they described as a Malaysia-based militant.
State prosecutor Peter Ong told reporters the Indonesian would be charged with multiple murder, punishable by death, "if he could be linked to the incident."
The justice department is conducting an inquest to determine "probable cause" before deciding whether to file criminal charges against al-Ghozi, who was arrested in central Manila last month.
His arrest led to the seizure in the southern Philippines of a ton of explosives, and the subsequent arrest of four Filipinos, all alleged MILF members.
It is believed the weapons were stockpiled by the alleged Islamic terror network Jemaah Islamiyah, and are meant for attacks in Southeast Asian countries.
Muklis, who Filipino police said is the alias of MILF member Hadji Onos, and two other people have been indicted for multiple murder for their alleged role in the bombing. All three are at large.
Al-Ghozi said in his affidavit that he gave the money to Muklis in the southern city of Marawi, and the explosives were purchased in the central city of Cebu.