Further probe into Indonesian terror suspects ordered

Further probe into Indonesian terror suspects ordered

Agencies, Manila/Jakarta

A Philippine court on Wednesday ordered government prosecutors to
conduct further investigations into a suspected terrorism case
involving three Indonesians arrested at a Manila airport last
March.

Tamsil Linrung, Agus Dwikarna and Abdul Jamal Balfas were
scheduled to be arraigned in open court on Wednesday on charges
of illegal possession of explosives which carries a maximum
penalty of up to 14 years' imprisonment.

Regional trial court Judge Henrick Gingoyon granted a request
by the suspects on Wednesday allowing them to submit affidavits
to prove their innocence, court clerk Joy Rillera said.

"The court directed the city prosecutor's office to conduct a
preliminary investigation and come up with a report within 60
days before we can proceed with the case," Rillera told AFP.

The three argued that they were not given the chance to file
their counter-affidavits when they were apprehended on March 13
after police said they found bomb making materials in their
luggage, Rillera said.

Intelligence officials in Manila said that the three had met
with associates of another Indonesian suspect, Fathur Rohman al-
Ghozi, who was arrested in January, and has since admitted to
plotting a string of deadly bomb attacks in Manila in 2000.

Al-Ghozi is an explosives expert with the Jemaah Islamiyah
Islamic movement, which officials say is the Southeast Asian wing
of the Saudi militant Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

One of the suspects, a businessman named Linrung, said earlier
that he saw police plant bomb-making materials and claims that he
was framed in order to discredit Indonesian presidential hopeful
Amien Rais.

Linrung was formerly treasurer of Amien's National Mandate
Party (PAN). Amien on Tuesday accused Philippine police of
engineering the arrest of the three.

In response, Philippine police spokesman senior superintendent
Leonardo Espina said: "If there are any questions that need to be
addressed by the Philippine authorities, protocol requires that
they be channeled through the Indonesian embassy."

Espina described claims that the charges against the trio were
fabricated as the "normal accusations of defendants."

Justice department undersecretary Manuel Teehankee said the
suspects would be charged only if there was sufficient evidence
against them.

"The safeguard in the process is the fact that the charges
against the Indonesians are subject to preliminary investigations
with the benefit of counsel."

In Jakarta, Vice President Hamzah Haz dismissed on Wednesday
speculation that the government had ordered Philippine
authorities to arrest the three Indonesians.

"I think there was no engineering in the arrest. Let's wait
for the trial process," Hamzah said.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono concurred with Hamzah, saying that he
would wait for further evidence of such speculations.

"I assure that at the government level there was no
engineering or order of arrest in Manila. It is unethical,"
Susilo said after delivering a keynote speech at a seminar on
regional autonomy here on Wednesday.

Hamzah and Susilo were commenting on a remark made by former
intelligence chief Z.A. Maulani on Tuesday that the arrest of
Tamsil, Agus, and Abdul Jamal was upon the request of Jakarta.

Maulani said his remark was based on a report from security
officials in the Philippines.

"If there is evidence (of engineering), we will be open (to
discussion). I don't want to make polemics, but I say that there
is no engineering," Susilo asserted.

Hamzah said sharing ideas and information between intelligence
agencies was a common practice, but fell short of saying that the
arrest of the three Indonesians was based on intelligence reports
supplied by Indonesia's intelligence agency.