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.