BIN denies involvement in Agus' arrest in RP

Yogita Tahilramani and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's National Intelligence Agency (BIN) denied on Tuesday it was involved in the arrest of Muslim activist Agus Dwikarna by police detectives and intelligence officers in the Philippines.

BIN lawyer Muchyar Yara said that on the contrary, the agency had sent a formal letter to the director general of the Philippine Intelligence Services requesting the release of Agus and two other Indonesians recently arrested by the Philippine National Police (PNP).

"BIN has actively advocated for the release of the three. BIN was not involved in the arrests, and the accusation that BIN made a request to the PNP not to release one of the arrested Indonesians is false. Instead, (PNP) is conducting further investigations in regard to the Indonesian who was not released," Muchyar told The Jakarta Post.

Muchyar was referring to Agus, who was recently arrested in the Philippines along with the former treasurer of the National Mandate Party (PAN), Tamsil Linrung, and businessman Abdul Jamal Balfas.

The three men were arrested at Ninoy Aquino Airport on March 13 for possession of bomb-making materials. They were also accused of immigration violations.

Tamsil and Abdul Jamal were released as a result of intensive lobbying efforts on the part of the Indonesian government. President Megawati Soekarnoputri is reported to have reached a political agreement with PAN in the release of Tamsil and Abdul Jamal.

Indonesian Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Tuesday he recently received information that Agus was allegedly involved in a bombing last year in Makassar, South Sulawesi. The general said he was unsure how or if this allegation was connected to Agus's arrest in the Philippines.

"I'm not sure how the bombing is linked to Agus's arrest in the Philippines. In any case, we will conduct an investigation into Agus's case," Da'i told reporters on Tuesday.

Despite protests by Islamic groups over the detention, the allegations against Agus have left him in detention and the subject of continuing investigations by Philippine detectives.

Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines have accused Indonesia of being lenient on terrorists. Indonesia has denied the charges, saying that it lacks draconian laws like the Internal Security Act used by Singapore and Malaysia to detain anyone suspected of having links with terrorism, without proper evidence.

Singapore and Malaysia have claimed that Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is a pivotal figure in an alleged terrorist group. The countries made the accusation after men arrested by Malaysian and Singaporean police on suspicion of terrorism claimed that Ba'asyir was a leader of their militant group.

Ba'asyir himself could be eligible for amnesty in a 17-year- old conviction on subversion charges, Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said last week they would arrest Ba'asyir on the basis of a 1985 Supreme Court conviction for subversion, once the court gave them the official nod. Ba'asyir fled to Malaysia before he could be jailed.

Yusril said the government had given a blanket amnesty to everyone convicted under a 1963 antisubversion law, which former president Soeharto used against his opponents, but had overlooked Ba'asyir and his nine-year jail sentence.

"Ba'asyir is not yet on the list of people who have been given amnesty .... Up until now he has not informed us (of his return to Indonesia) so he was overlooked," Mahendra said.