Police charge 11 suspects with terror activities
Eva C. Komandjaja and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Surakarta
The National Police announced on Tuesday that 11 out of 17 alleged terrorists arrested last week had been officially charged as suspects in relation to a string of terror activities around the country, including the deadly bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta last year.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko D.A. told reporters that the suspects, who were apprehended in Central Java and Jakarta, would be charged under the Antiterrorism Law (No. 15/2003), which carries a maximum penalty of death.
Nine of the 11 were apprehended in Surakarta and neighboring Wonogiri in Central Java, while the other two were arrested in Jakarta.
"We have issued arrest warrants and they have been detained," Soenarko said.
Soenarko refused to divulge the full names of the suspects, giving only their initials and their alleged roles in terrorist activities.
The first two suspects, who were captured in Jakarta, were identified as IH and EK.
They allegedly provided the detonating leads and TNT (trinitrotoluene) for the bomb attack in front of the Australian Embassy in September 2004, which killed 10, including the suicide bomber, and injured some 180 people.
Three other suspects were held in Central Java -- UP, DC and JT -- on charges of harboring two Malaysian fugitives, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohd. Top as well as supplying materials for a series of bomb attacks around the country. The two Malaysians are the reputed top leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah, a regional terror group linked to Al Qaeda.
Four suspects -- JT, JS, MI and HS -- were charged with aiding and abetting terrorists, including providing transportation and financing.
Soenarko also revealed that the last two suspects, HM and FP, were suspects in the murder of prosecutor Ferry Silalahi last year in conflict-prone Palu, Central Sulawesi. Ferry was shot dead in his car after leaving a house where he had attended an evening religious service.
"As for the other six people that haven't been declared suspects yet, they are still being interrogated," Soenarko said.
Police have arrested scores of terrorists linked to the bombing incidents in Bali in 2002, the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003, and the Australian Embassy in 2004. Three men have been sentenced to death in relation to the Bali attacks.
While most of those arrested have been found guilty by the courts, many have claimed to be innocent.
Meanwhile, a family member of one of the recently arrested terrorist suspects said that his brother, Joko Tri Purwanto (one of the two JTs identified by the police), was apprehended last week after his wife delivered their third child at a Surakarta hospital in Central Java.
According to Eko, Joko's elder brother, the latter had no criminal record and was not involved in terrorism. "In fact, he never leaves home for more than 24 hours," Eko told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He said that the 34-year-old Joko looked after his two cell phone shops in Surakarta, working from 9 a.m until nine in the evening. "Even if he had to go out, it would only be to look for used cell phones to be sold in his shops."
Eko said he was upset by how the police had handle the case, claiming that the police did not produce a warrant when arresting his brother.
He said that when Joko was arrested, he was carrying some Rp 7 million (US$737) in cash, which he intended to use to pay the hospital bills of his wife. He feared that the police would claim that the money was to be used to help finance terrorism.