'U.S.' barring RI access to Hambali may hamper case'

'U.S.' barring RI access to Hambali may hamper case'

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The United States' reluctance to allow Indonesia to question
Hambali, the suspected leader of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror
network, could hamper the prosecution's case against him, warns a
legal expert.

"Authorities here could prosecute Hambali based on the U.S.'
questioning, which has been conducting an interrogation based on
a list of questions submitted by Indonesia. But I am afraid the
prosecution would not gain a maximum result," said Topo Susanto
of the School of Law at the University of Indonesia.

He said the interrogation results by the U.S. could only be
submitted as written evidence in court, which would not be strong
enough to prove the charges against him.

"The Indonesian judicial system considers direct testimony
from witnesses as the strongest form of evidence to support a
prosecutor's charges against a defendant," he said, adding that
Hambali should be presented at an Indonesian court if his case is
to be tried here.

Topo cited the case of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, the suspected
spiritual leader of JI who was sentenced to only four years in
jail for immigration offenses and sedition, as his role in JI was
not proven in court. The lenient sentence was widely lamented by
Western countries.

However, the terror-related charges against Ba'asyir were
based on the testimony of terror suspect Omar Al Farouq, who was
secretly handed over to U.S. custody.

Al Farouq's testimony was constructed from an interrogation by
American authorities, who received a list of questions from the
national police, and thus, could only be submitted as written
evidence at the Indonesian court.

The charges against Ba'asyir were also based on interrogations
of other suspected JI members detained by Singapore and Malaysia.
They testified against Ba'asyir via a televised link, which is
still a controversial format under the country's judicial system.

Topo also questioned the U.S.' motive behind its move not to
allow Indonesian police an opportunity to question Hambali
directly.

Legislator Effendy Choirie of the House of Representatives'
Commission I for defense said the U.S.' reluctance could spark
doubts among Indonesians as to whether Hambali actually existed.

"The government should no longer obey the U.S. in the drive
against terrorism. We must show that our country's move against
terrorism comes of our own will, not at the instruction of the
U.S. This case proves that the U.S. does not support us," he
said.

The U.S. earlier explained that its reluctance to hand over
Hambali was due to "the need to use the information to make sure
that no planned acts of terror occur and to handle law
enforcement and all matters that would involve Indonesia and
other countries in Southeast Asia".

The Sydney Morning Herald daily reported that the U.S. had
denied Indonesia had demanded direct access to Hambali.

Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono renewed Indonesia's request during
separate meetings last week with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) head Robert Mueller, Deputy Defense Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz and State Secretary Colin Powell.

The newspaper reported that "while (Susilo) and his officials
would not get access to Hambali immediately, he hoped they would
do so in the future".

Susilo also confirmed with the paper that Indonesia had
submitted a list of questions for U.S. investigators to ask
Hambali during his interrogation.

Foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said in Jakarta
that the ministry had yet to receive an official response from
Colin Powell in regards its request for direct access to Hambali.

"In principle, they have said that our officials would be
allowed to question Hambali. We have no reason to think
otherwise," he said.

Hambali, born Encep Nurjaman, was arrested on Aug. 11 along
with his wife in Thailand, and is being held by the U.S. at an
undisclosed location.

He was allegedly involved in 39 bombings in eight Indonesian
cities between August 2000 and the Bali blasts of October 2002,
as well as the car bomb attack on Aug. 5 on the JW Marriott.

Susilo also asserted that Indonesia needed to question Hambali
in connection with JI's other plans against Indonesia and other
Southeast Asian nations.

Hambali, also known as Riduan Isamuddin, is also wanted for
questioning in Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.

It was not known under what charges the U.S. has detained
Hambali.

The U.S. apparently decided to deny direct access to Hambali,
as reported by the New York Times, because Hambali had told the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of plans to attack two U.S.
hotels and commercial airlines in Bangkok. The Thai capital is to
host the APEC summit next month, which will be attended by 21
heads of state, including U.S. President George W. Bush.