Outspoken Ba'asyir turns mum

P.C. Naommy, Jakarta

Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir refused on Wednesday to answer police questions over his alleged role in regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) during an examination at Salemba Penitentiary in Jakarta.

The questioning, led by Sr. Comr. Abdul Kholik, began at 9 a.m. and lasted for one hour and 15 minutes.

Police questioning revolved around the cleric's activities during his stay in Malaysia after leaving Indonesia in 1985, his alleged role in Jamaah Islamiyah, the reported Udaybiyah terrorist training camp in the Philippines and his relationship with the perpetrators of bombings across Indonesia over the past few years.

According to Ba'asyir's lawyer, Luthfie Hakim, the questioning was based on a police report submitted on March 30, which focused on Ba'asyir's alleged connection to JI.

"From a total of 40 questions asked by the investigators, Ustadz (Ba'asyir) only answered formal subjects, such as his personal identity, and refused to sign the examination dossier," said Luthfie.

The head of the National Police's terrorism and bomb unit, Brig. Gen. Pranowo, said Ba'asyir was fairly cooperative during the interrogation.

After the questioning, Ba'asyir released a written statement saying that because the police questioning was clearly the result of U.S. intervention, he felt a moral duty not to cooperate.

He also stated that he would only agree to answer questions during an open trial, describing the current investigation as harassment.

Luthfie said that in substance, the questions his client was asked on Wednesday were no different from those that were asked during Ba'asyir's earlier trial; the only difference was in the charges being laid against Ba'asyir.

"Whereas Ba'asyir had previously been charged with treason, a charge that was not proven during the trial, now the police have accused him of being the leader of JI ... ," said Luthfie.

Police named Ba'asyir a terror suspect on April 16 and charged him under articles 14, 15, 17, and 18 of Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism.

Luthfie called the new round of questioning by police an effort to reinstate charges that Ba'asyir was the leader of JI, for which he had already been exonerated.

Luthfie said that according to the law, a person could not be charged twice for the same crime. The Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling that Ba'asyir was the founder of JI.

The questioning on Wednesday was marked by the presence of several noted Muslim figures, including Sri Bintang Pamungkas and Habib Husein Al-Habsyi, who said they were present to monitor the interrogation and provide moral support for Ba'asyir.

Outside Salemba Penitentiary, hundreds of Ba'asyir's supporters, many from the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council and the Islam Defenders Front, staged a rally to demand the release of Ba'asyir on April 30, when his prison term ends.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra earlier said the ministry would release Ba'asyir after he had finished serving his prison term.