Police doctors examine terror suspect Ba'asyir

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Doctors continued on Thursday their medical examination of terrorist suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to see when he will be fit to face questioning.

For the first time, police physicians joined the examination at the Muhammadiyah Hospital in the Central Java town of Surakarta, where Ba'asyir has been receiving treatment since last Friday.

The doctors agreed that the Muslim cleric could leave hospital in two to three days if his condition continued to improve.

One of Ba'asyir's lawyers, Joko Sutrisno Widodo, said his client could now stand and walk slowly around his bed but was still connected to an oxygen nasal tube and an intravenous drip.

"The doctors said they would try to take out the oxygen tube tomorrow," he told AFP. "His communicative abilities are improving but are still poor."

Singapore and Malaysia have accused the 64-year-old of being the spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), an organization that 45 countries, including the United States, Australia and Indonesia, have listed as a terrorist group.

Ba'asyir has been implicated in several bomb attacks across the country and a plot to assassinate Megawati Soekarnoputri, the current president. The accusations were based on an account given by Omar al-Faruq, an al-Qaeda operative in Southeast Asia who is now in the custody of U.S. authorities and who claims to know Ba'asyir well. Ba'asyir has denied the claim.

Police, who failed to question Ba'asyir after he collapsed last Friday, plan to fly the Muslim cleric to Jakarta for questioning.

But Irfan Suhariyadi Awwas, deputy chairman of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), which is led by Ba'asyir, suggested that his mentor be allowed to see his home and boarding school before being whisked off to Jakarta.

"Even if the visit is only very short, it would help calm down the students," Irfan said as quoted by Antara.

MMI chairman Ba'asyir lives in Ngruki, Surakarta, Central Java province, where he also heads an Islamic boarding school.

Irfan said taking Ba'asyir directly into police custody in Jakarta after being discharged from the hospital might encourage his students to commit "emotional acts".

"As such, I think it would be wise for the police to allow Ba'asyir to go home for a while to see his family and students," he said.