Court again delays trial of JI member

Court again delays trial of JI member

PALU, Central Sulawesi: The Palu District Court again delayed
the trial on Thursday of Fauzan, a suspected member of Jamaah
Islamiyah (JI), after key witness Mustafa failed to appear there
for health reasons.

Mustafa is believed to be the commander of JI's Chos militia
group whose members are reportedly ready to launch suicide
attacks.

Prosecutor Firdaus Yahya said the key witness could not
testify at the trial as he was sick.

Firdaus brushed aside allegations that law enforcers were not
handling the issue of terrorism seriously.

"I promise to present the witness in next week's trial," he
said.

Mustafa's testimony was necessary to uncover arms smuggling
activities that allegedly involved JI members. The weapons were
believed to be have been purchased from neighboring country, the
Philippines.

Last week, the court also delayed the trial of Fauzan for the
same reason. --JP