Prosecutors seek one-year term for militant

Prosecutors seek one-year term for militant

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A state prosecutor demanded on Thursday former leader of Laskar Jihad Ja'far Umar Thalib be sentenced to one year in jail for his incitement of public hatred and provocation of people to fight against the government.

Prosecutor Slamet Rijanto told the East Jakarta court that Ja'far had insulted the government of President Megawati during a speech before 2,500 people at the Al Fatah Mosque, Ambon, Maluku, on April 26.

"Ja'far told the audience that the government had dallied with the separatist South Maluku Republic (RMS) movement for three years.

"This is similar to the action of her father, who refused to dissolve the Communist Party, despite the latter's coup on Sept. 30, 1965," he quoted Ja'far as saying.

According to him, Ja'far declared that since that day, there would be no Malino peace agreement as parties to the agreement had even raised the RMS flag.

Ja'far also provoked Muslim groups not to reconcile with the Christian community, according to Slamet.

"Ja'far said that from that day (April 26) there would only be a war in Maluku, and he told the audience to save their money to make bombs," Slamet said.

"...this was aimed at replacing or overthrowing the legitimate government," he added.

The prosecutor accused Ja'far of violating one of three articles in the Criminal Code about allegiance to the government: Articles 154, 136, and 160, which carry a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

The charge against Ja'far was primarily based on a tape recording by police intelligence and was supported by a number of witnesses.

However, under the regulation, a tape recording could not be used in evidence against the defendants.

Ja'far denied such an allegation, saying he had not incited the congregation at Al Fatah Mosque to fight against the government.

"I'm not guilty at all. I never said such things," Ja'far told reporters after the trial.

The court was adjourned by presiding Judge Mansyur Nasution to Jan. 9 to hear the defendant's statement.