Singapore priority to 'neutralize terrorist network', not try accused

Singapore priority to 'neutralize terrorist network', not try accused

Chris Foley, Agence France Presse, Singapore

The Singapore government has defended not producing before court
any of the 31 accused terrorists arrested since last December,
saying to do so could stifle information when the priority is to
"neutralize" a terror network.

The 31 are all being held under the Internal Security Act
(ISA), which allows for permanent detention without trial, and
are accused of plotting devastating attacks on several targets,
including the U.S. and other embassies.

Their return to freedom will depend on when they are no longer
considered "a threat", rather than on their serving any set term
of punishment if convicted, the government said.

Most are said to be members of the militant Islamic
organization Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) which has been tied to Osama
bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

The government has said continuing investigations after the
first 13 suspects were arrested late last year led to another 18
arrests in August, and pinpointed 12 more who have fled the
country.

They also provided details on targets -- ranging from the US
embassy to a packed railway station, helped build a profile of
the JI, and named Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir as their
"amir or overall leader".

Despite mounting calls from civil libertarians and opposition
politicians for the evidence to be laid out in court, a home
affairs ministry spokesman said that was not a priority.

"The Internal Security Act allows the government to deal with
threats in situations where an open court trial would either
jeopardize investigations or further inflame the already volatile
situation," he told AFP.

"The Internal Security Department's operational priority in
this case presently is to continue to neutralize the entire
clandestine network and disrupt the terrorist plan to mount the
planned or any further attacks in Singapore."

Asked whether it was envisaged that some or all of the 31
would ever appear in court, he said there was nothing further to
add.

Sinapan Samydorai, from the Think Center rights group in
Singapore, said delays in producing the accused in court placed a
question mark over the evidence the government claims it has.

"If there really is a serious threat to the country, they
would be tried. It seems they don't have enough evidence to take
them to court," he said.

The home affairs spokesman said it was not always possible to
produce people in court when "sensitive information or national
security are involved", but the argument did not hold with former
opposition leader J.B. Jeyaretnam.

"There is no reason why they should not be put on trial when
there are enough laws to punish people for terrorist activities,"
he said.

Chee Soon Juan, head of the opposition Singapore Democratic
Party, said "secret arrests" should not be allowed.

"No citizen of this country should be convicted and imprisoned
without allegations being presented and tried in a court of law,"
he said.

However, Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told the Straits
Times that people who argued for a court hearing were "naive" and
a trial would not help the investigation.

"Once they go to court and, say, they are sentenced to 30
years' jail and that's it... After that, why should they talk to
you? Where's the provision to release them after, say, five
years?" Wong said.

"There is no promise here to say that if he tells us more,
he'll be released earlier. The promise here is that when he is no
longer a threat, he'll be released."

A report this year on the first 13 arrested said they had all
admitted "terrorism-related" activity and were tied to a plot
that would have had catastrophic consequences if they had pulled
it off.

Their targets were said to include the fortress-like U.S.
embassy and other Western diplomatic missions and a busy railway
station.

The second group was said to be planning attacks on vital
water supply pipelines, Changi airport, Jurong Island where
Singapore's oil refineries and petrochemical plants are based,
the ministry of defense headquarters, a US vessel in port and a
pub frequented by U.S. military personnel.

Singapore's longest serving prisoner under the ISA is a former
opposition MP Chia Thye Poh who spent more than 22 years in jail,
followed by nearly 10 more years of being limited in where he
could live and travel.

Chia was accused of being a communist, which he never
admitted, but was never charged with any crime.