Indonesia won't seek to extradite Hambali's brother
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Saturday that Indonesia was not seeking the extradition of six Indonesian students currently detained in Pakistan, citing a lack of evidence that links them to crimes at home.
"Our mission is not to bring them back home but to provide legal advocacy for our citizens who are facing charges abroad. We don't have preliminary evidence of any legal violations they might have committed here," Da'i told reporters in Surabaya.
Among the students was Rusman Gunawan, alias Gun Gun, who is the brother of Hambali, the alleged leader of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) who is in the U.S. custody at a secret location since his capture in Thailand on Aug. 11.
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, and other plots across Southeast Asia.
Rusman was arrested at an Islamist school in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Sept. 1. It remains unknown what charges have been laid on him and the five other Indonesian students, identified as Muhammad Saifuddin, Ilham Sopandi, Furquon Abdullah, Muhammad Anwar Asshidique and David Pintarto.
The Pakistani authorities arrested the students of Abubakar Islamic University in Karachi for their alleged links to JI.
When asked whether the students would be flown home if they were found not guilty, Da'i said the decision was in the hands of Pakistani authorities.
"It depends on the law there. We can't force them to comply with our wishes. We must respect their law," he asserted.
Indonesia has recently sent a team of four officials from the police, foreign affairs ministry and the national intelligence body to Karachi to find out about the cases.
Earlier in the day, Sr. Comr. Zainuri Lubis, the National Police spokesman, said the six detained students could not be brought home as they were involved in crimes in Pakistan. But, the police do not know whether the students were implicated in a terrorist plot, Zainuri added.
Pakistan has rounded up at least 19 students from Southeast Asia recently, including the six from Indonesia.
Rusman has reportedly admitted that he passed to Hambali some US$50,000 as well as some computer discs several months ago, but denied the involvement of the other detained students.
He also admitted he had sent several computer discs to Abdul Rohim, the younger brother of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, and leader of Indonesian Mujahidin Council who is currently serving a four-year jail term for immigration offense and subversion.