FPI chairman arrested upon arrival at airport

FPI chairman arrested upon arrival at airport

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city police arrested the chairman of the Islam Defender's
Front (FPI) radical group, Habib Rizieq Shihab, on Sunday as he
arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Without any of his lawyers present, Rizieq who had just
arrived from Jordan, was arrested by the police, television
station SCTV reported.

Police had earlier declared the Muslim cleric a fugitive after
he twice ignored a police summons.

The police had planned to present the case files and the
firebrand cleric to the Attorney General's Office last Wednesday.
However, he ignored the police summonses, and failed to report
his whereabouts for the last two weeks.

He reportedly left for Iraq, via Jordan, earlier this month to
"wage jihad" against U.S.-led coalition forces. The FPI had
previously said it would send its members on a jihad to defend
Iraqis against the U.S.

The police had previously detained Rizieq, but then they
released him and placed him under house arrest last November,
subject to the condition that he reported his whereabouts to the
police every Monday and Thursday.

The cleric was charged with involvement in the vandalization
over a number of entertainment centers in Jakarta last year
during raids by FPI members.

The radical group, which has long been notorious for its
attacks on entertainment centers the group claimed were promoting
vice, decided last November to indefinitely freeze its activities
throughout the country. However, it then decided to reactivate
itself last month.