Prosecutors still preparing charges against Ba'asyir

Prosecutors still preparing charges against Ba'asyir

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

The Attorney General's Office is still preparing charges against
Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and hopes to bring him to court
within a month, an official says.

Office spokesman Kemas Yahya Rahman said the Jakarta
Prosecutor's Office was now waiting for Ba'asyir to be
transferred from the National Police headquarters and to be
placed under its custody.

"Our prosecutors are now drafting charges against Ba'asyir
while waiting for the police to hand him over to us. Usually by
this stage, we will bring a suspect to court within a month,"
Kemas told The Jakarta Post.

Kemas declined to state what charges the prosecutors would
present against Ba'asyir, who has been accused of masterminding
terrorist attacks across the country since 1999.

National Police Antiterrorism Division director Brig. Gen.
Pranowo confirmed that they had completed Ba'asyir's dossier and
would be ready to hand him over to the prosecutor's office soon.

"We have coordinated with the prosecutor's office on what
charges should be pressed against Ba'asyir. They are now
preparing the charges," said Pranowo.

He said the police were concentrating on the evidence that
Ba'asyir had planned several bomb attacks across the country
since 1999, including the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombing.

One of Ba'asyir's lawyers Ahmad Mihdan said he and his team
had not received any letter informing them that their client's
dossier had been completed and that their client would be
transferred to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office.

"According to the law, the police must notify us that our
client is to be transferred to the prosecutor's office. However,
we are ready to accompany him during detention and later in
court," Ahmad told the Post.

He said it was clear that the police and prosecutors had
conspired from the beginning to convey the impression to the
public that Ba'asyir was guilty and should be tried as soon as
possible by releasing many false statements.

Police named Ba'asyir a terrorist suspect on April 16 and
charged him under articles 14, 15, 17 and 18 of Law No. 15/2003
on antiterrorism for planning, coercing, abetting and
perpetrating terrorist attacks. He could face the death sentence
if convicted.

National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung
Sudjono said previously that as the spiritual leader of the
clandestine group Jamaah Isalmiyah (JI), Ba'asyir was responsible
for planning the bomb attacks in the country between 1999 and
2002.

JI is a UN-listed terrorist organization blamed for the Oct.
12, 2002 Bali bombings and the Aug. 5, 2003 JW Marriott Hotel
attack in Jakarta.

Ba'asyir was tried last year but prosecutors failed to prove
his involvement in terrorist activities. However, he was
sentenced to prison for immigration offenses and document
forgery. Ba'asyir was rearrested shortly after his release in
April, triggering a violent clash between his supporters and
police.

The police said recently that they had found new evidence and
witnesses that had not been presented in the 2003 trial to be
used in the upcoming trial.