Alleged terror leader to be tried for fake passport

Alleged terror leader to be tried for fake passport

An alleged Singaporean terror leader arrested in Indonesia will
be tried for using a fake passport, Riau police said Thursday.

Mas Selamat bin Kastari, a Singaporean, is wanted by his home
country over an alleged plot to hijack a plane and crash it into
the island state's Changi airport.

"Based on the preliminary result of our interrogation, he
admitted to have used fake documents such as an identification
card in order to get an Indonesian passport," Riau police
spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Pandiangan said.

"Therefore his legal process will be based on immigration
matters and we are currently preparing his dossiers to be used in
court."

Singapore says Selamat led the Singapore cell of the regional
terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI). It has sent police to
interview him.

Pandiangan said a special national police team from Jakarta is
investigating whether Selamat is linked to international
terrorism.

Indonesian police on Feb. 2 arrested Selamat in Bintan island.
Jakarta has given contradictory signals on whether he will be
sent back to Singapore in the absence of an extradition treaty.

A foreign ministry spokesman has said there are no plans to
return him because he faces legal action in Indonesia. Minister
of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra has said
Indonesia could hand over Selamat but Singapore must return the
favor in future.

"He is a citizen. He is a Singaporean. And definitely, he will
be brought back to Singapore," the city-state's Home Affairs
Minister Wong Kan Seng said last week.

Selamat is said to have fled Singapore last year following a
crackdown on the JI. At least 31 JI members are being detained in
Singapore for alleged plots to blow up US and other foreign
targets and water pipelines.

JI is accused of staging the Bali blasts last October which
killed more than 190 people. -- AFP