Mon, 17 Feb 2003

Police to submit Ghufron's dossier to prosecutors Monday

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Investigators are expected to submit the dossier of Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas, one of the key operatives in the Bali terror bombings, to the prosecutor's office Monday as local officials plan to bury body parts of victims killed in the deadly terrorist attacks.

Ghufron is the elder brother of Amrozi, one of the first suspects arrested for the Bali bombing, and Ali Imron, the alleged bomb assembler.

"We will submit the dossier on Monday," Director of Bali Police Headquarters' Detective and Crime Section Snr. Com. Eddy Kusuma Wijaya was quoted by Antara as saying in Bali, Denpasar on Sunday.

The dossier of Ghufron, widely believed to be the western Indonesia regional coordinator of the so-called Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), reportedly replaced Riduan Isammudin, alias Hambali, who is one of the most wanted men in Asia and believed to be the overall operational head of JI. Ghufron's is the second case file to be completed after police investigators submitted the dossier of Amrozi to the Bali prosecutor's office earlier.

Ghufron was nabbed in Mohammad Najib's house in Tulung sub- district, Klaten district, Central Java, in December 2002.

Police have so far arrested 25 suspects. Fifteen dossiers of those allegedly involved in the blasts that killed almost 200 people and injured some 350 others would soon be handed over, Eddy said.

The 14 suspects, whose dossiers are still being processed, included Abdul Azis alias Imam Samudra, alleged mastermind of the bombing and Ali Ghufron, he said.

Under the government's regulation in lieu of laws No. 1 and 2/2002 on anti-terrorism, Abdul Aziz and Ali Ghufron could be given the death penalty, he said.

Meanwhile, Bali provincial officials are planning to bury unclaimed body parts of victims killed in the Bali bombing as soon as possible.

"Based on our coordination meeting with the Bali police forensic team, the body parts can be buried," Bali health department head Made Molin Yudiasa was quoted by Detik.com on Sunday.

"The governor (Dewa Made Beratha) has instructed us to coordinate with the Denpasar traditional village head on the planned burial," Molin said.

He said the body parts would be put in plastic bags and properly numbered for easy identification. "One plastic bag for each set of parts with the same DNA," he said. The bags will then be placed in coffins for burial.

According to Molin, the body parts had undergone DNA tests but had not been claimed by family members.

He also said that local officials would on Monday notify a number of foreign Consulate Generals on the government plan to bury the body parts.

"We will wait for their response for one week. If after one week they don't respond, we will bury them immediately," he said.

Last Thursday, Australian Disaster Victim Identification team handed over 140 bags of body parts that had not been claimed by their families and three unidentified victims to Indonesian police.