The Age, October 12, 2005
Bali police question bombing suspect
By Mark Forbes, Indonesia Correspondent, Denpasar
A TERRORIST suspect allegedly connected to the October 1 Bali bombings is being
interrogated by Indonesian police in what appears to be a breakthrough in the
investigation.
Australian Federal Police forensic experts sealed off a house in Denpasar yesterday
afternoon, apparently based on information received from the man, named only as
Hasan.
The bombers are believed to have stayed at the house in the weeks before the
attacks, disappearing on the day of the blasts.
Hasan was arrested in the East Java town of Jember late on Sunday night, according
to police spokesman Brigadier General Sunarko Artanto. He was flown to Bali early
on Monday.
"He is being interrogated," General Sunarko said yesterday. "Based on his
information we have searched an area in Denpasar."
Hasan's arrest followed police interviews with 259 witnesses, he said. If Hasan is
involved, it would be the first significant breakthrough in the investigation into the
attacks that killed 23 people, including three suicide bombers.
Local media reports suggested Hasan had identified a Denpasar boarding house
where the bombers and another man lived in the weeks before the bombing. The men
allegedly disappeared on the night of the blast.
There were unconfirmed reports that Hasan stayed with the men, but returned to
Jember three days before the attack. Neighbours told The Age that the three
disappeared on the morning of the blasts.
Also yesterday, police smuggled out of Bali the three men sentenced to death for
their involvement in the 2002 bombings, concerned that angry locals demanding their
execution may storm Kerobokan prison today.
Ali Gufron (alias Mukhlas), Imam Samudra and Amrozi (the "smiling assassin") were
ushered into an armoured van and rushed in a police convoy to Denpasar airport,
where they were flown to the high-security Nusakambangan island prison off West
Java.
A large demonstration was expected at the prison today, the third anniversary of the
bombings, which killed 202 people. The latest bombings have outraged locals, who
have demanded the death sentences be carried out.
A provincial government spokesman, Gede Rata, said the three were transferred for
"security reasons and overcrowded capacity".
General Sunarko said Hasan was being held in "a secure location in Denpasar".
He said Hasan was a construction worker. He is believed to be 45 and to have worked
in Malaysia four years ago.
Under anti-terrorism laws, police have seven days to question him before deciding on
charges. General Sunarko refused to say if Hasan had any direct links to the blast.
[PHOTO: A video grab showing Indonesian police holding up a photo of the man they
arrested in Jember, East Java under anti-terrorism laws. Photo:CCTV.]
The Age visited the boarding house off Jalan Nangka Selatan, which was raided by
police yesterday. Neighbours said they were not sure if the men were the bombers.
One woman, Sulastri, said: "I never spoke to them so I don't know where they are
from. I have seen the pictures of the suspect. I don't think it's them."
Some local media outlets reported other neighbours said they recognised one of the
occupants from photographs of the bombers' severed heads.
Copyright © 2004. The Age Company Ltd.
|
