Ba'asyir told to cooperate with police

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Hamzah Haz pressured Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on Thursday to comply with all legal processes against him, which includes undergoing police questioning.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Hamzah said Ba'asyir's acceptance to comply with all procedures would help law enforcers to proceed with the case.

"Anyone (being prosecuted) must undergo due legal process and we expect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to abide by the existing laws," Hamzah said.

Hamzah was known for his defense of Muslim hardliners, including Ba'asyir, before the Oct. 12 terror attack on Bali that claimed 190 lives.

Police have never linked Ba'asyir to the Bali bombing.

Ba'asyir, whom many have linked to internationally outlawed Jamaah Islamiyah, is implicated in the Christmas Eve bombings of 2000 and a plot to murder Megawati Soekarnoputri before she assumed power. If found guilty, the charges against Ba'asyir carry the maximum penalty of death.

Ba'asyir, who has been in police custody since his arrest two weeks after the Bali bombing, challenged National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to produce evidence in court and prove the legitimacy of the charges against him.

Two lawyers representing Ba'asyir became engaged in a heated debate during a court session over the inclusion of Article 53, Law No. 9/1999 on immigration by the police's legal defense as legal grounds for detaining Ba'asyir.

The police have accused Ba'asyir of violating Article 53, under which he has lost his Indonesian citizenship for failing to inform the Indonesian embassy in Malaysia of his presence while residing there for over five years.

Ba'asyir's lawyers rejected the inclusion of Article 53, arguing that it was not mentioned in the warrant for his arrest. "(The inclusion of Article 53) is indeed a cover-up," he said, demanding the police state whether or not this was the reason for his client's arrest.

Ba'asyir has consistently denied all allegations against him, maintaining that his arrest was the result of U.S. pressure on the Indonesian government.