Ba'asyir told to cooperate with police
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.