The Jakarta Post, March 29, 2003
Muslim hardliner fails to report to police, reported headed for Iraq
JAKARTA (JP): A militant Muslim leader failed Thursday to report to police in
preparation for his trial, with supporters saying he had left for a "humanitarian mission"
in Iraq.
"Detectives were investigating if Habib Mohammad Rizieq Shihab, leader of the Front
for the Defenders of Islam (FPI), had indeed left for Iraq," Jakarta police spokesman
Prasetyo as quoted by AFP.
Lawyers for the FPI gave police a statement saying Shihab had left Indonesia on
Monday. It said he said obtained a Jordanian visa and would enter Iraq from there.
Shihab has been detained under city arrest since late last year as part of a
crackdown on Muslim hardliners following the Bali bombings. He is accused of
instigating violence during a series of raids during which Front members smashed up
pool halls and bars in Jakarta.
Police say he will also face charges of "public display of enmity to the state" and
faces up to seven years in jail if convicted. They were supposed to present Shihab
and his evidence file to prosecutors on Thursday in preparation for his trial.
If Shihab had really left for Iraq "then he has violated the law because he was not
supposed to leave the country," Prasetyo told reporters. Shihab, under the terms of
his conditional release pending trial, was supposed to notify his whereabouts to police
twice a week.
After the U.S.-led attacks on Iraq began, the FPI launched a drive to sign up
volunteers to fight alongside the Iraqis. It was not clear if anyone actually left the
country.
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