Four 'Azahari-linked' suspects freed

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.