Wife defend's al-Faruq's innocence

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

The wife of detained terrorist suspect Omar al-Faruq has defended her husband's innocence, saying he had nothing to do with terrorism.

"I don't believe he is a terrorist; he is only a scapegoat," Mira Agustina told reporters at her house in Cisalada subdistrict, Bogor, West Java.

Mira confirmed that plain-clothed police officers arrested al- Faruq on June 5 in Baranangsiang, also in Bogor.

"They accused my husband of drug abuse, passport forgery and the Christmas Eve bombings in 2000," she said.

According to the 24-year-old woman, she and her two daughters were in Tanjungpinang, Riau, to look after the couple's garment business when her husband was arrested. The family arrived in Tanjungpinang in May, but al-Faruq had to return home to fetch his passport as they planned to visit Mira's aunt in Malaysia.

"I've not seen my husband since," said Mira.

Mira said she knew about her husband's arrest from Internet reports.

"It was reported that officers took my husband to Jakarta before transporting him to Malaysia. He is now reportedly being detained by American troops in Afghanistan," said Mira, who suspected that her husband was in detention in the U.S.

According to media reports, al-Faruq is a high-ranking agent of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network. The U.S. accused al-Faruq, believed to be a Kuwaiti national, of involvement in the Sept. 11 attacks. He was reportedly arrested here by CIA officials.

Kuwaiti Ambassador to Indonesia Jamal Mubaraq has denied that al-Faruq is a Kuwaiti.

Mira married 31-year-old al-Faruq in Ambon, Maluku in 1999. Her husband, Mira said, used to work as a garment trader as well as a preacher.

Mira knew her husband as Mahmud bin Ahmad Assegaf, who was born in Ambon on May 24, 1971. She showed reporters her husband's Indonesian ID card and birth certificate.

Mira's mother, Mrs. Oman, said that al-Faruq was arrested when he had just got off a bus in Baranangsiang. Dozens of police officers raided her house, paying special attention to al-Faruq's room.

Engkus, a community unit head who was present at the time of the arrest, cited one officer as saying that a high-ranking officer led the arrest, which took place at about 1 a.m.