Indonesian police re-arrest militant cleric
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Indonesia’s capital today as officers re-arrested a militant cleric accused of heading the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network and whisked him away for questioning – on the day of his release from prison.
About 300 supporters of Abu Bakar Bashir gathered outside Jakarta’s Salemba prison before daybreak and threw stones and bottles at riot police, who responded with water cannon and tear gas.
Several people, including at least one officer and two journalists, sustained minor injuries. There were no immediate reports of arrests.
Witnesses said a group of policemen grabbed Bashir from the prison and rushed him into a waiting van. As he was taken out, Bashir smiled and waved at waiting journalists, saying only: “The will of God must be carried out.”
Bashir was about to be released after serving an 18-month prison sentence for minor immigration offences.
His lawyers reacted angrily.
“This is an extraordinary form of illegal detention,” said lawyer Munawarman, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. “They stormed into the cell. They pushed him and dragged him into the car. The police are acting above the law.”
Authorities had said Bashir would be freed today. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court overturned a three-year treason sentence handed down last year.
But in a sudden about-face, prosecutors said yesterday that an arrest warrant had been issued for 66-year-old Bashir on suspicion of approving a four-year string of bombings, including the October 12, 2002, Bali attack that killed 202 people.
Under anti-terrorism legislation enacted last year, police can detain suspects without charges for up to six months.
Bashir’s lawyers have said the re-arrest is part of a US-led conspiracy to keep him jailed despite a lack of fresh evidence. Several high-profile Indonesian Muslim leaders have also pleaded for his release and urged Washington to stop interfering in Indonesia’s domestic affairs.
US Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge claimed last month that Bashir had “intense and deep involvement in the planning and execution of terrorist activities” and should be tried again. Australia’s foreign minister, Alexander Downer, called Bashir a “loathsome creature” and urged Jakarta not to release him.
Bashir’s fate is politically sensitive in Indonesia, where authorities have sought to cooperate with the US-led war on terror while not appearing to cave in to US and Australian pressure.
Officials said in media interviews yesterday that they have testimony from scores of witnesses from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, who can prove Bashir heads Jemaah Islamiyah.
Authorities said they have recently found new documents implicating Bashir - including a letter signed by Islamic extremists in the Philippines that allegedly identifies him as Jemaah Islamiyah’s leader.
That letter was allegedly written by two suspected militants currently detained in Indonesia: Mustafa, said to be a top Jemaah Islamiyah operative who trained in al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and his Malaysian associate, Nasir Abbas.
Bashir’s supporters argue that authorities are repackaging old evidence and counting on the new anti-terror law for a conviction.
