Outspoken Ba'asyir turns mum

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.