Police asked to set Ba'asyir free
Police asked to set Ba'asyir free
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
In a move seen as attempting to influence the legal process, a
number of legislators of Muslim-based parties submitted on Friday
a letter asking the police to temporarily release terrorist
suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir from detention.
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that the police
headquarters "was considering all the consequences" of honoring
such a request, while a criminal law expert said the request
should be ignored.
The legislators "guaranteed" that the cleric would not flee.
Earlier, party leaders, including Hidayat Nurwahid of the
Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), had also asked for Ba'asyir's
temporary release.
After serving 18 months in jail for immigration offenses and
document forgery, Ba'asyir was released from Salemba Penitentiary
on April 30 but was immediately rearested. Police had cited
evidence that he had presided over an inauguration ceremony at
the Hudaibiyah military camp run by Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) in
Mindanao, southern Philippines, on April 1, 2000.
They also said he had installed a JI branch leader in
Surakarta in April 2002, a task entrusted only to a JI leader.
JI is on the United Nations' list of organizations linked to
the al-Qaeda terrorist network, and is blamed for the October
2002 Bali blasts and the August 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing in
Jakarta.
Ba'asyir has maintained silence during police questioning,
saying that the police are only carrying out the will of the
United States, which he claims indiscriminately targets Muslims
in its war on terror.
The legislators who wrote to Da'i were Muthamiul Ula and
Mashadi of the PKS, Achmad Sumargono and Hamdan Zoelfa of the
Crescent Star Party (PBB), Jusuf Muhammad of the National
Awakening Party (PKB) and Patrialis Akbar of the National Mandate
Party (PAN).
However, a professor of criminal law, Harkristuti Harkrisnowo,
said that the move could be seen as intervention in the legal
process because the police would feel pressured to address the
problem. "According to the law, only family members, lawyers or
the detainees are allowed to request a temporary release from
detention," Harkristuti said.
Jafar Assegaf, the head of Ba'asyir's team of lawyers, said as
much public support was needed before the lawyers could submit a
request for temporary release.
"House members are respectable citizens who have the power to
influence the police," said Jafar.
On the day of his rearrest, hundreds of the cleric's
supporters clashed with police outside the prison. Other protests
occurred outside Jakarta, the most violent being one Makassar,
South Sulawesi, last Saturday.
Ba'asyir was initially sentenced to four years for involvement
in an alleged JI plot to overthrow the government but the court
said it was not convinced that he actually led the network.
An appeal court overturned the conviction but sentenced
Ba'asyir to three years in prison on immigration-related
offenses. The Supreme Court halved that sentence last month.
When asked after Friday prayers whether he would request to be
released, Ba'asyir said that it was the "Muslim community in
general," not himself, who was making the request.