Pakistan hands over six Indonesian terror suspects
Pakistan hands over six Indonesian terror suspects
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National Police are to question six Indonesian students over
their alleged involvement in terrorism activities, after they
were deported by Pakistani authorities on Wednesday.
"It is a normal procedure for police to continue the
interrogation after a joint team from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, National Intelligence Agency (BIN) and National Police
carried out a cross-examination of them," National Police deputy
spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko said on Wednesday.
Mohammad Syaifudin, Ilham Sofyandi, David Pintarto, Furqon
Abdullah, Muhammad Anwar As-Shadaqqi and Rusman Gunawan, alias
Gun Gun, are expected to arrive in Jakarta on Thursday.
Soenarko said police would place the students in their custody
for 24 hours for questioning.
He said police were taking the case seriously, saying a
detailed interrogation would be required before they could
determine the legal status of the students.
"This interrogation is aimed at seeking more details than what
we obtained during the questioning in Pakistan. After that, we
can determine whether to issue a detention letter for a longer
detention or not."
However, he acknowledged the interrogation, at the very least,
would clarify their relationship to several terrorist cells that
police had been investigating.
Pakistan turned over the students to Indonesian officials on
Wednesday in the southern port city of Karachi where they were
arrested three months ago, an official said, as quoted by AFP.
The hand-over came a week before the visit of Indonesian
President Megawati Soekarnoputri to Pakistan on Dec. 17.
Pakistani foreign office spokesman Masood Khan confirmed the
handover and said the Indonesian delegation, which arrived here
Sunday, had come with a formal request to take custody of the six
detainees.
They were arrested by Pakistani authorities in early September
for alleged involvement in terrorist activities.
Gun Gun, the younger brother of suspected terrorist mastermind
Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, has admitted to sending
US$50,000 and telecommunications equipment to his brother.
Hambali is believed to be the leader of the Southeast Asian
regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).
JI has been blamed for a string of terrorist attacks in the
region, including the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002 and the JW
Marriott Hotel attack in Jakarta on Aug. 5, 2003.
Hambali has been in U.S. custody at an undisclosed location
since October following his capture in Thailand in August.
National Police Chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said earlier that the
six students had no criminal records.
Soenarko also said the interrogation in Pakistan was led by
the foreign ministry so the National Police had no authority to
disclose the results of the interrogation.
"Even though we participated in the team to question the
students, we just accompanied the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
BIN officials to Pakistan," said Soenarko.