'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.