The Sydney Morning Herald, January 4, 2006 - 10:05PM
Militants stand trial on terror charges
Four Indonesian militants went on trial in a Jakarta court on Wednesday, accused of
assisting a senior operative of Jemaah Islamiah, a group seen as the South-East Asia
arm of al-Qaeda.
A defence lawyer said one of the defendants, Salahudin, was charged with finding
weapons for Indonesia's most wanted man, terror fugitive Noordin Top, who is
suspected of responsibility for a string of bombings in recent years.
Three of the defendants, including Salahudin, are also accused of hiding information
about Top's whereabouts.
"Salahudin and two other defendants are accused of helping terror perpetrators and
hiding the information of Noordin Top's whereabouts," said Erwin Firmansyah, a
member of the legal defence team representing three of the four men on trial.
The fourth defendant, Joko Sumanto, faces charges of collecting money eventually
used by Top.
Police say Top and fellow Malaysian Azahari bin Husin, who was killed in a police raid
on his East Java hideout in November, were senior operatives of Jemaah Islamiah.
Police almost caught Top hours before the raid and he is thought to be still in
Indonesia.
Authorities believe Top and Azahari masterminded several bombings in Indonesia
blamed on Jemaah Islamiah, including a 2004 blast outside the Australian embassy in
Jakarta that killed 10 people.
Azahari was considered a master bomb maker, while police say Top is an expert in
recruiting young suicide bombers.
© 2006 AAP
Copyright © 2005. The Sydney Morning Herald.
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