Scores hurt after Ba'asyir's rearrest

Scores hurt after Ba'asyir's rearrest

P.C. Naommy and Evi Mariani, Jakarta

Police rearrested a controversial Muslim cleric on terrorism
charges here on Friday moments after his release from Salemba
prison, triggering violent clashes between his supporters and the
police that left more than 100 injured.

Police said that the charges laid against Abu Bakar Ba'asyir
regarding his involvement in a string of terror attacks in the
country between 1999 and 2002 were based on statements made about
Ba'asyir by the perpetrators of the attacks.

"The perpetrators have said Ba'asyir is the Amir (spiritual
leader) of a secretive group called Jamaah Al Islamiyah (JI),"
said National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno
Landung Soedjono.

JI is an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organization blamed for the
Oct. 2002 Bali blast and the Aug. 2003 JW Marriott bomb attack in
Jakarta.

Due to his alleged role as a leader of JI, police charged
Ba'asyir on Friday under articles 14, 15, and 17 of Law No.
15/2003 for planning, persuading, abetting, and perpetrating
terrorist attacks in the name of JI.

Ba'asyir was released after serving an 18-month term for
immigration-related offenses and document forgery but was
immediately detained under the tough new antiterror law that
allows detention without trial for up to six months.

Suyitno said the police were currently consulting Muslim
political experts to confirm that the term "Amir" signified a
leader in order to strengthen their case.

News about his rearrest and his transfer to National Police
Headquarters incensed hundreds of his supporters waiting outside
the penitentiary in Central Jakarta, who then attempted to block
his removal.

When 58 paramilitary police moved in to push them back and
clear the way, Ba'asyir's 700 or so supporters began throwing
rocks and other objects. They also damaged an outside broadcast
unit belonging to APTN television. Five hundred police
reinforcements moved in with tear gas and water cannon to quell
the rioting.

Sixty-six police officers, including three senior officers,
were hurt in the melee.

"The most serious injuries, severely fractured skulls in all
cases, were suffered by three officers, including Adj. Sr. Comr.
Suparmono, the head of the city police's intelligence division,"
said Sr. Comr. Budi Siswanto, the head of police's medical
division.

A medical team from the MER-C organization reported that about
40 Ba'asyir supporters were hurt in the clash. Two had to undergo
surgery, one for a brain hemorrhage and the other for a fractured
skull.

One of Ba'asyir's lawyers, Muhammad Ali, said the cleric had
refused to read or sign the arrest warrant.

The head of Ba'asyir's team of lawyers, Muhammad Asegaff, said
that his client had already expressed his standpoint to Suyitno.
The cleric had pledged to remain silent during questioning and
not to sign any documents.

Ba'asyir was initially sentenced to four years for involvement
in an alleged JI plot to overthrow the government but the court
said it was not convinced that he led the network. An appeal
court overturned the conviction but sentenced Ba'asyir to three-
years imprisonment on immigration-related offenses. The Supreme
Court halved that sentenced last month. The secretive JI group is
listed by the UN as one of the world's most dangerous terrorist
organizations.