Four more bomb suspects arrested

Four more bomb suspects arrested

Jupriadi, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi

Police in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar said on Thursday
they had arrested four people as possible suspects in last week's
bombings, including the father and a younger brother of Agung
Hamid, the alleged mastermind of the Dec. 5 blasts.

South Sulawesi Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani told
journalists in Makassar that Agung's father Abdul Hamid and
brother Iwal Hamid were arrested at their family home in Barru
regency, South Sulawesi, where the police found TNT, a high
explosive bomb-making material.

Firman did not reveal the amount of TNT found in Abdul Hamid's
home, saying only that it was separate from the 2.5 kilograms of
TNT found at a metal workshop belonging to Masnur, another key
suspect.

"The father and a younger brother of Agung Hamid are
undergoing intensive interrogation and have been declared
possible suspects in relation to the possession of TNT," Firman
said.

The two were believed to have had prior knowledge of plans by
the Agung-led plotters to bomb both a McDonald's restaurant and a
Toyota car dealership, he added.

At least three persons were killed in the blasts that left
another 30 injured.

Agung's two wives, Ety Suherti and Panca Budi, were also
grilled by police investigators, but it remained unclear whether
they were detained or released.

Aside from Abdul Hamid and Iwal Hamid, police also detained as
possible suspects Khairul and Utan. They are being held for
questioning in Central Sulawesi Police Headquarters in Palu.

"The two persons were arrested on the basis of information
from suspects and witnesses that was obtained by investigators in
Makassar," Firman said.

Police have so far named 10 suspects -- Agung, Azhar Daeng
Salam, Muchtar Daeng Lau, Usman, Masnur, Ilham, Suryadi, Lukman
Hasan, Hisbullah Rasyid and Dahlan.

Six of the suspects have thus far been arrested and police are
now searching for the remaining three -- Agung, Dahlan and
Hisbullah. One suspect, Ansar, believed to be a field operative,
was among the three persons killed in the bombings.

Firman said he has proposed that National Police chief Gen.
Da'i Bachtiar impose a travel ban on Agung, the alleged
mastermind of the Makassar bombings -- who was trained in
Afghanistan and the Philippines -- and the two other suspects
still at large.

Agung and at least one other suspect, Muchtar, are suspected
members of the radical Laskar Jundullah group, whose leader Agus
Dwikarna was sentenced by the Philippines to 17 years in prison
for illegal possession of explosives.

But, the police appeared to be trying not to link the Makassar
blasts with Laskar Jundullah, saying the attacks were perpetrated
solely by those involved in a national and regional network.

Also on Wednesday, investigators raided the house of Lukman on
Jl. Amirullah in Makassar and found a number of timers, believed
to be for detonating bombs.

Meanwhile, lawyers grouped in the Advocacy Team for the
Victims of the Antiterrorism Regulation (TAKPAT), accused police
of violating human rights and the Criminal Procedures Code in
their moves to arrest suspects and witnesses.

"The police have made arrests and staged raids on suspects and
witnesses without first providing sufficient evidence, and they
base their actions on the antiterrorism regulation in lieu of a
law," spokesman for the team Abraham Samad said on Thursday.

Article 26 of the newly-enacted regulation allows the police
to make arrests based solely on intelligence reports.

"This article contradicts Article 17 of the Criminal
Procedures Code, which stipulates that a person can be arrested
only if there is prima facie evidence against him," Abraham said.

Responding to the accusations, Firman said, "that's not a
problem as we work for and are responsible to the public, the
state and God. I assure you, we are not engaged in any sort of
manipulation in this case".