Four 'Azahari-linked' suspects freed
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The search for top terrorist suspects Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top appears to have hit a snag, following the release of four men on Wednesday who were seized in an intense dragnet operation, due to lack of evidence.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Paiman said late on Tuesday the police had already released the four men, who were apprehended last week in Bogor and Sukabumi, after being unable to directly or indirectly link them to Azahari.
"They were released because we didn't find any proof that links them to Azahari and his partner Noordin, or to a number of bomb attacks that have taken place in the country," he said.
Paiman, however, acknowledged that the four men had indeed been trained by terror suspect Rois -- but only to fight public crimes, not to carry out bomb attacks.
Noordin and Azahari have been accused of masterminding the Sept. 9 bomb attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, which caused the deaths of 11 people. They have also been linked to the Bali bombings and last year's JW Marriott Hotel blast in Jakarta.
Meanwhile, police authorities arrested on Wednesday a man suspected to be Rois alias Iwan Darmawan alias Hendi alias Agaf, a suspect in the bomb attack in front of the Australian Embassy in Kuningan, Jakarta, two months ago.
Brigadier Priyono, who was on patrol at the time, arrested the man, who identified himself as Hayuti. A bus passenger had informed him of a suspicious man who was hanging out at a coffee stall in the bus terminal in Cilegon, Banten.
Priyono approached the suspected man and swiftly grabbed him by his hands after he acted somewhat troubled upon seeing the police officer.
"After I grabbed him, I took him to a nearby police station to match his face against those of most-wanted people on the poster distributed by the National Police. I was so certain it was Rois because there was a great resemblance," he said.
The man had an invalid identification card under the name of HN Hayuti and an Islamic boarding school student card in his pocket.
The police also found a book containing the telephone number and name of Azahari. However, Hayuti quickly denied that he was Rois.
Hayuti was later taken to Cilegon Police station for further investigation. He said he had just arrived at Merak seaport from Lampung and was heading to Lebak.
Cilegon Police deputy chief Panca Putra Simanjuntak confirmed the arrest, but said the police would not jump to any conclusions.
"Although he really looks like Rois, we'll still need to carry out more intensive investigations to avoid further confusion," said Panca.
Meanwhile, Adi Suryana alias Qital, 41, was sentenced to four years in prison on Wednesday for his alleged role in the bomb attack outside the Philippine ambassador's house in Jakarta in July 2000.
Prosecutors, who demanded a seven-year sentence, said Suryana used his chemical engineering degree and Islamic militant experience to run bomb workshops and plot attacks on Western interests.