Ba'asyir moves to new, cool cell
Ba'asyir moves to new, cool cell
Evi Mariani, Jakarta
Cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, 65, was transferred from National
Police Headquarters to his air-conditioned cell at Jakarta Police
Headquarters on Friday. Soon after arriving at his new residence
in a Nissan Terrano car he waved and smiled broadly.
City police detective chief Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang and
other detectives greeted Ba'aysir before gesturing him inside the
comfortable detention center, ignoring the presence of reporters.
Ba'asyir's lawyer Mahendradatta arrived carrying some of the
cleric's belongings, including a small suitcase and a towel
hanger, into the detention center.
For the time being, Ba'asyir is the only occupant of the newly
renovated detention center, which has five large air-conditioned
bedrooms with new spring beds -- including one main bedroom with
an en suite -- a dining room and a living room. The total cost of
the renovation has not been made available.
Minutes before Ba'asyir arrived, Jakarta Police chief Insp.
Gen. Makbul Padmanagara said the detention center would
accommodate senior citizens detained at the headquarters. He
denied the building would be used exclusively for terrorist
suspects.
"It's for elderly detainees, because we assume they will need
special attention. For example, most of them need to go to the
toilet frequently," he said.
Both the National Police and the city police insisted that
they were not giving the cleric special treatment.
Ba'asyir is in police detention over his alleged involvement
in international terrorism.
The cleric had been released on April 30 after serving an 18-
month sentence at Salemba Penitentiary for immigration violations
and document fraud. Minutes later, he was arrested again for
alleged links to terrorism.
Ba'asyir's rearrest was protested by many of his followers,
including dozens of members of Islamic youth organizations in
Medan, North Sumatra, on Friday. They demanded National Police
chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar release the cleric soon, Antara
reported.