Amrozi claims threatened with torture
Muninggar Sri Saraswati and Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Makassar
One of the main suspects in last year's Bali bombings retracted an incriminating account of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on Thursday, saying he fabricated his statement to police because of threats of torture.
Amrozi, currently on trial in Bali for his role in the Bali attack, was testifying at the trial of Ba'asyir, who has been charged with treason and attempting to kill then vice president Megawati Soekarnoputri in 2001.
Amrozi told the Central Jakarta District Court that he lied after his elder brother Mukhlas, also a suspect in the bombings, returned from an all-night interrogation session "all black and blue".
Mukhlas is alleged to be a leader of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group, for which Ba'asyir is alleged to have acted as spiritual leader.
"My big brother said that hot water was poured on him. His genitals were swollen and looked burned. He asked me to give the interrogators what they wanted to hear because he thought I was not as strong as he was," Amrozi told the court.
Prosecutors have charged Ba'asyir with treason for leading the JI.
Amrozi said interrogators threatened to torture him more seriously than Mukhlas if he refused to obey them. But Amrozi declined to identify the investigators, saying only that they were from National Police Headquarters.
"Interrogators said that this (testimony) should lead to that old man ... I was really afraid," Amrozi said, referring to 64- year-old Ba'asyir.
He said he had only met Ba'asyir once in Malaysia and twice in Indonesia. He admitted to speaking to the cleric once but said that Ba'asyir did not say anything about bombings.
No witnesses have so far implicated Ba'asyir in bombings or linked him definitively to JI.
Amrozi replied "I don't know" when asked whether Ba'asyir had connections with Hambali and Imam Samudra, both alleged senior members of JI.
However, he admitted that he knew Hambali, who is currently at large, was involved in church bombings in East Java on Christmas Eve 2000.
Amrozi is currently on trial for plotting terror acts, accused of buying the explosives and minivan used to make a huge car bomb in Bali. He faces the death penalty if convicted.
The trial of Ba'asyir was adjourned until June 26 when three suspected JI members now detained in Singapore will provide evidence via a live video link-up. They include Faiz bin Abu Bakar Bafana, an alleged leader of JI.
On July 3, three other JI suspects detained in Malaysia are scheduled to testify via teleconference.
Meanwhile, in Makassar, the trials of two suspects alleged to have bombed a McDonald's fastfood restaurant in the South Sulawesi capital resumed on Thursday with the court hearing the testimonies of four employees of the fast-food outlet.
McDonald's manager Ery, assistant manager Indah Permatasari, cashier Asni Husain and Firdaus told the Makassar District Court that they did not know Lukman bin Husain and Usman Nuraffan.
The two are charged under antiterorism laws for their role as accomplices in the bombings that killed three people and injured 15 others.
The two are part of 13 people suspected of being involved in the deadly blasts. Key suspect Agung Abdul Hamid and several other suspects are still at large.
The survivors said they were in the restaurant when an explosive rocked the restaurant.
"During the blast, I was in the counter area. I heard a strong explosion and all the cooking equipment fell down and visitors went out and ran away. After that it was dark and I saw thick smoke everywhere," Indah told the court.
Indah, who is still traumatized by the blast, said that after the bombing dozens of security personnel arrived and took all the victims to hospital.