Hambali's younger brother admits assisting him
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Rusman Gunawan, alias Gun Gun, one of five arrested Indonesian students in Pakistan, has admitted that he aided his elder brother, top terrorist suspect Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, but denied the involvement of other detained students.
"They are not guilty. I am the one guilty of helping Hambali by sending him $50,000 and compact discs a few months ago," Gun Gun was quoted as saying by Indonesian consulate official Temu Alam, Antara reported on Thursday.
Gun Gun, Muhammad Saifuddin, Ilham Sopandi, Furquon Abdullah, Muhammad Anwar Asshidique and David Pintarto -- all students of Abubakar Islamic University -- were arrested by Pakistani authorities for their alleged link with the terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI). JI has been blamed for a series of bomb attacks in Indonesia, including the Bali bombing in October 2002 and the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta on Aug. 5, 2003.
One of the students, Saifuddin, was released on Thursday.
Gun Gun had earlier denied being connected to any terrorist group, insisting that he was only guilty of failing to renew his student visa.
Temu said Gun Gun claimed he did not feel he was directly involved with Hambali's terror activities, but regretted helping his elder brother.
Gun Gun had sent several compact discs to Indonesian Abdul Rohim, the younger brother of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir. Thought to be the spiritual leader of JI, Ba'asyir was sentenced to four years in jail by an Indonesian court for immigration violation and sedition, but his connection to the terror group was not proven.
Temu said similar discs were confiscated from another Indonesian student, Anwar.
Saifuddin admitted to keeping the discs, but denied knowing their contents, saying he did not have any computer, Temu added.
The Pakistani Home Affairs Ministry gave Temu permission to meet with Gun.
Separately, Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday in Karachi, Pakistan, that Gun Gun was proving hard to crack in interrogations since his arrest here three weeks ago.
"Rusman Gunawan (Gun Gun) is hard to break. He's come out much tougher than his baby-faced appearance," an intelligence official involved in the arrest told AFP.
"It took two days before he started speaking, but even then there were a lot of contradictions in his statements."
Although Gun Gun continued to deny any links to JI, he spoke with admiration for the group when asked about it, the official said.
"He smiled when asked about jihad," he said.
Another Pakistani intelligence official said, "I don't think any of them will be prosecuted here, but what we are trying to find out about is their terrorist plans. These are sensitive matters."
Indonesia will send on Saturday a joint team consisting of officers from the National Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) to Pakistan to meet with the detained students.
Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said the delegation would ask Pakistani authorities to indict the students immediately.
Meanwhile, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf told Antara on Wednesday (Thursday, Jakarta time) at the UN's New York Headquarters that the U.S. would not object if Pakistan handed over Gun Gun to Indonesia.
Musharraf said Pakistan's attitude was based on its good relations with Indonesia.
Separately, an Indonesian official said the U.S.' security authorities had promised to give eventual access to Indonesian investigators to question Hambali, who is in U.S. custody.
Lt. Gen. Susi Silalahi, assistant to Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the pledge was made after the minister's meeting with several U.S. government officials.
Susilo met with Secretary of State Colin Powell and deputy defense minister Paul Wolfowitz, as well as several congressmen.
"Now we just have to wait for the U.S. officials to set a date," Sudi said.