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.