Home folks treat Al-Ghozi like returning hero

ID Nugroho The Jakarta Post Madiun, East Java

The remains of the convicted terrorist and prison escapee Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi was transported to Surakarta last night for an autopsy, following suspicions by his family that Al-Ghozi was deliberately murdered by the Philippine security forces.

"The remains of Al-Ghozi are finally in our hands, but we found something strange about the body. Previous reports said that he was shot in a gun battle, but we found here that there were sewn wounds on the body.

"Only the full autopsy may be able to shed more light over whether he was killed in a gun battle or deliberately murdered," Rusman, the spokesperson of the Al-Ghozi family, told reporters at the house of Al-Ghozi in Mojorejo subdistrict, Madiun on Thursday.

The remains of Al-Ghozi arrived in Surabaya on Wednesday night from the Philippines, and were immediately transported to Mojorejo subdistrict for burial.

However, the planned burial on Thursday morning was eventually canceled after the family consulted with members of the Muslim Lawyers Team (TPM), who considered that the autopsy had to be done to determine the cause of Al-Ghozi's death.

The official account stated that Al-Ghozi was killed in a brief shoot-out near the town of Pigkawayan, Cotabato province, in the southern Philippines late on Sunday in a raid launched by security forces.

The shoot-out ended the long journey of Al Ghozi, who was last year sentenced to 17 years in jail in Manila for illegal possession of explosives. Al-Ghozi, who was said to be one of the top operatives for the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), escaped from prison in June, and was on the run before he was killed.

Meanwhile, on late Thursday, members of TPM who also defended several Bali bombers, including Fachmi Bachmid, and other Muslim activists were seen escorting the body of Al-Ghozi, which was transported by ambulance to Surakarta from his house. Mahendradatta, another TPM member, said that Al-Ghozi would have an autopsy in Moewardi Hospital in Surakarta.

Fachmi said that Surakarta was chosen because it had several hospitals that were well-equipped. Fachmi also said that several noted doctors had expressed their readiness to conduct the autopsy, including Abdul Mun'im Idris from the University of Indonesia.

After the autopsy, the remains of Al-Ghozi would be transported back to Mojorejo subdistrict in Madiun for burial.