Terror suspects pushed to testify in Ba'asyir trial

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

Police are trying to convince seven detained terrorist suspects to testify at the planned trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, a cleric also detained for alleged terrorist activities.

Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said on Tuesday that police were trying to link Dahlan and six other terrorist suspects arrested in Surakarta, Central Java last week to Ba'asyir, so that they could testify at his trial.

"We are still interrogating them in Central Java and Bali. Dahlan was involved in planning an attack on the JW Marriott Hotel, while the six others were accused of involvement in the Marriott and Bali bombings. We will find a link between Ba'asyir and the seven," said Suyitno.

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 terrorism for planning, coercing, abetting and perpetrating terrorist attacks. He could face the death sentence if convicted.

Suyitno said earlier that as the spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), Ba'asyir was responsible for planning 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.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said in Semarang last week that the six played a central role in planning and preparing both attacks, in which over two hundred people were killed and hundreds of others injured.

He said it had also been revealed that the six were involved in the planning of the attack on the United Nations building in 2003.

Da'i clarified on Friday last week that they were all members of the JI.

Police said one of the six suspects, identified by his initials US, was a citizen of a neighboring country. The remaining suspects were identified as AD, BA, MT, UM, and FH.

Ba'asyir's case file was submitted to the Jakarta prosecutor's office two weeks ago. Police said that they found new evidence that the cleric was behind a series of bombings that rocked the country since 1999.

Director of the police's antiterror division Brig. Gen. Pranowo said Ba'asyir would be tried soon, as the prosecutor's office had confirmed that his case file was complete.

"However, we don't want to be in too much of a hurry because we want to gather as much evidence as possible -- we still have time," said Pranowo.

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. He was rearrested shortly after his release in April, triggering a violent clash between his supporters and police.