FPI leader shot dead near his house

JAKARTA (JP): Habib Saleh bin Abdullah Alatas, a leading figure in the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), was shot to death in front of his house on Jl. Percetakan Negara VII/8 in Central Jakarta before dawn on Sunday.

Deputy Central Jakarta Police chief Asst. Supt. Iza Fadri told The Jakarta Post that the Muslim leader was shot by two people when he was about to perform his Subuh (predawn) prayer at the nearby An-Noor mosque.

"He was shot at the abdomen. We're still examining the kind of weapon the murderers used to shoot him," he said.

Iza said that the police were also still investigating the motives behind the murder.

"Preliminary investigations lead us to the provisional conclusion that the murder had a connection with a dispute over land, including a house, on Jl. Percetakan Negara IX Blok MI/6, which belongs to the victim's parents," he said.

"The victim had long been involved in conflict with one of his sons-in-law, identified as Muchdar, over the land."

Iza said the Central Jakarta District Court had issued a ruling in favor of Muchdar. The court's verdict was later upheld by the Jakarta High Court.

"When the Central Jakarta District Court was about to execute its verdict, based on the High Court's decision of July 13, 2000, Alatas was holding a mass prayer meeting on the disputed land and in the house. The prayer meeting was guarded by FPI members," he said, while adding that the meeting was followed by a physical dispute that injured four people.

A lawyer for the victim, Andi Wahyudi Jalil, said that the victim's family has received repeated phone threats that they would be murdered since then. (06/imn)