Laskar Jihad members facing possible six years in prison
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."