Laskar Jihad members facing possible six years in prison

Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya.

Suspected of involvement in the recent riots in Ngawi, East Java, 102 Laskar Jihad members face possible six-year prison sentences, local police said.

East Java Police Spokesman Sad Harunantyo told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that, after interrogation in police precincts throughout the province, the suspects confessed to taking part in the unrest, acts violating Chapter 169 of the Criminal Code.

The Jihad members were arrested for sweeping, or forcibly disrupting, gambling activities in this small town, near the border between Central Java and East Java, last weekend.

These attacks have been linked to the kidnapping of Chairman of the local chapter of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Yuwono Susatyo, who is still missing.

Harunantyo said some of the suspects in custody also face an addtional five-year, six-month jail sentence for the illegal possession of guns and explosives.

During the arrest, police officials managed to confiscate 40 molotov cocktail explosives (bottles filled with gasoline), machetes, double sticks and dozens of firearms.

He said police were still reviewing the suspects' dossiers before handing them over to the local government prosecutor.

"One important thing is that the police carry out the investigation transparently," he said, citing four other suspects believed to be supporters of the PDI Perjuangan in Ngawi.

Asked about Yuwono's whereabouts, Harunantyo said the police were continuing in their investigation. "The police will continue to work hard to search for Yuwono," he said.

The Ngawi chapter of PDI Perjuangan has announced this Saturday as the deadline for the police to recover Yuwono -- dead or alive.

Meanwhile, Susilo Muslim, commandant of the PDI Perjuangan's civilian guard force in Ngawi, claimed to have found four places in the area where Yuwono was likely held.

"But we are waiting for the police's search work," said Susilo; he declined to identify the locations.

Susilo said the local chapter of the PDI Perjuangan's civilian guard force would not seek vengeance against local Muslim organizations for Yuwono's abduction.

"We have no intentions or any plan to do so," he said, "because the abduction was conducted likely by certain sides who want to bring PDI Perjuangan and Muslim people to a physical confrontation."