Police up pressure on Ba'asyir case

Police up pressure on Ba'asyir case

P.C. Naommy, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police are intensifying their investigation into Abu Bakar
Ba'asyir's suspected involvement in terrorist activities in the
country.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said on Friday that
police had gathered sufficient evidence and testimonies that
could implicate the Muslim cleric in terrorist attacks across
Indonesia.

"I am not so sure whether he can be said to be a suspect. I
haven't received the report yet. But yes, we're heading in that
direction (declaring Ba'asyir a suspect)," said Da'i on Friday.

Ba'asyir, who has been labeled a terrorist leader by
neighboring countries Singapore, Australia and the United States,
is currently serving an 18-month jail term for an immigration
violation and document forgery. His release is due on April 29.

Da'i's statement came barely one month after the U.S. handed
over the latest transcript of their interrogation of suspected
terrorist Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, who has been detained
under U.S. custody at an undisclosed place since his capture last
August in Thailand.

The Indonesian-born Hambali is believed to be a leader in both
regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah and Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaeda.

Indonesia has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks since
December 2000, including the Bali bombings that killed over 202
people on Oct. 12, 2002 and the Aug. 5, 2003 JW Marriott Hotel
attack that killed 14 people.

Key suspects in the Bali bombings, most of whom have been
sentenced to either death or life, admitted to meeting Ba'asyir
before the blasts, but fell short of implicating him.

Antiterrorism Director VI Brig. Gen. Pranowo at National
Police Headquarters said the investigation into the cleric had
been going on for some time.

"We have already run a number of checks on the cleric since
the Bali bombing trials, but the evidence and facts we had
gathered were not strong enough. We're now working on some new
evidence," said Pranowo.

He said police would not use material from the U.S.' Hambali
interrogation, as it had no legal validity as evidence under the
Indonesian judiciary.

Instead, the police will use another source of information
that was submittable to Indonesian courts, but he declined to
elaborate.

Ba'asyir's lawyer, Mohammad Ali, told The Jakarta Post on
Friday that the police planned to question his client next
Wednesday. He said four officers from police headquarters had
come to Salemba Penitentiary on Thursday to ask permission to
bring Ba'asyir to headquarters for questioning.

After discussing the matter with Mohammad, the interrogation
was scheduled for March 7 at National Police Headquarters.

Mohammad said the police summons only mentioned that a dossier
on the cleric needed to be drawn up in accordance with the
Antiterrorism Law.