Terrorists' testimonies to be used to quiz Ba'asyir

P.C. Naommy and Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surakarta

Testimonies by suspected terrorists now detained in neighboring countries will be used to investigate elderly cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's involvement in terrorist activities, an officer says.

"Police already have several testimonies from witnesses in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore on the cleric's involvement (in terrorist activities)," National Police chief of detectives Insp. Gen. Suyitno Landung Soedjono said on Tuesday.

According to Suyitno, the witnesses mentioned the involvement of the Indonesian Mujahiddin Council (MMI) chairman in terrorist activities.

He revealed neither the names of the witnesses nor terrorist activities Ba'asyir was implicated in.

Ba'asyir, who is currently serving a one-and-a-half year jail term for immigration violations and document forgery, was scheduled to be questioned on Wednesday (today), but Suyitno said on Tuesday that no date had been officially set for the questioning.

He did say, however, that the police already had permission from the Directorate of Penitentiaries to take Ba'asyir to the National Police Headquarters for questioning.

Ba'asyir's lawyer, Mohammad Ali, said earlier that police had sent a letter to the Salemba penitentiary to say that they needed the Muslim cleric for questioning under Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism.

Another lawyer, Mohammad Assegaff, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that Ba'asyir would not attend the planned interrogation as the police had not officially issued a summons letter to the cleric.

"The letter is important so that the Uztad can prepare his defense," said Assegaff.

He said the fact the planned questioning came after the United States had handed over 125 transcripts of their investigation into suspected terrorist Riduan Isamuddin, alias Hambali, proved that the world's only superpower has compelled Indonesia to press charges against Ba'asyir.

"The U.S intervention in this case is an insult to Indonesian legal sovereignty and the Supreme Court," he said.

Ba'asyir, who was elected MMI chairman at its first congress in 2000, has been accused of being the leader of regional terrorist group Jamaah Islamyiah (JI), which police investigators blamed as being behind a series of terrorist attacks across the country since 2000, including the Bali bombings, which killed over 200 people and the Marriott Hotel attack, which killed at least 14 people.

Meanwhile, at least 183 students from the Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school in Surakarta left for Jakarta on Tuesday to accompany Ba'asyir.

"The police have arbitrarily treated and slandered Abu by saying that he may be involved in the Bali bombing," said activist Umar Kasim.

In their media statement, the students demanded that President Megawati Soekarnoputri dismiss National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar for bowing to U.S. pressure by sending Ba'asyir to jail.

The students also alleged that members of the Islam Defenders Front in Jakarta would participate in protests against the questioning of Ba'asyir.