Amrozi claims threatened with torture
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.