Police name 5 Acehnese as bomb suspects
Police name 5 Acehnese as bomb suspects
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The City Police named on Sunday five suspects in the blast that
rocked the Graha Cijantung Mall in East Jakarta and called them
"terrorists", who were also believed to be involved in the recent
bombs that exploded in front of a discotheque and at the parking
lot of a hotel in Central Jakarta.
"They are categorized as terrorists," Snr. Comr. Anton Bachrul
Alam told reporters during a press conference at the police
headquarters.
The evidence found by the police indicated that the explosions
were related to each other, he said.
Eight people were injured in the blast at the Cijantung Mall,
while the bomb that went off in front of the Eksotik discotheque
on June 9 seriously wounded two people. At about the same time on
June 9, another explosion rocked the parking lot of the Jayakarta
Tower hotel, and two bombs that were not exploded were found in
the parking lot of Sarinah department store in Central Jakarta,
and in front of Hayam Wuruk Plaza.
The police announced on Saturday that they had arrested six
people and discovered explosives in three different houses
located just outside the city limits, in Cimanggis, Depok; in
Cibinong, Bogor; and in Bintaro, Tangerang. The biggest discovery
was in Kampung Kebayuran, Depok, where the police found several
grenades, homemade bombs, 20,000 rounds of ammunition, 160
magazines, several detonators, a pack of marijuana, Rp 50 million
(US$5,555) in cash and some military-like uniforms.
Anton denied the military's involvement, saying that such
uniforms are available on the open market.
He also said the police were not certain if the five suspects,
who are all from Aceh, were related to the Free Aceh Movement.
The police, however, believed the activities were funded by
the sale of marijuana, which is cultivated extensively in Aceh.
The five suspects are all being held in custody at the police
headquarters, while another person, not considered a suspect, had
been released.
They are charged with the Emergency Law No.12/1951, which
carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty.
They were identified as Atom, Sahrul, Bambang alias Adi, Muda
Ali and Hasan alias Nyak Mad. The one that was released was Laluk
bin Kodin, who works as a driver for Bambang's wife.
Six other suspects are still wanted by the police. One of them
is Jalaludin alias Jalil, who is believed to be the owner of the
explosives and the ammunition that were found by the police.
The police officers have appointed lawyer Farhat Abbas to
provide the five suspects with legal assistance.
Farhat told reporters that he received the police request on
Saturday night. He said that he had agreed, but it would also
depend on the suspects, as they had the right to chose their own
lawyers.