LAKSAMANA.Net, September 2, 2004 11:48 PM
Police Berated Over Bomber's Starbucks Trip
Laksamana.Net - Senior legislators have criticized police over their decision to take
convicted Bali bomber Ali Imron to a Jakarta branch of the Starbucks coffee chain,
warning the move will tarnish Indonesia’s image abroad.
"This will damage our image overseas, especially in Australia, which can protest
because of many of its citizens were casualties," legislator Djoko Susilo was quoted
as saying Thursday (2/8/04) by detikcom online news portal.
Imron was in September 2003 sentenced to life imprisonment for his role the October
12, 2002, Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Initially jailed at Bali’s Kerobokan prison, he was transferred to Jakarta in April,
apparently to help police with their investigations into regional terrorism network
Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for the Bali attacks and numerous other
bombings.
Imron, accompanied by National Police narcotics division chief Brigadier General
Gorries Mere and several guards, spent three hours on Wednesday evening at the
Starbucks cafe in Plaza Indonesia’s swank new Entertainment X’nter on Jalan
Thamrin. The group later went to the nearby Hard Rock Cafe, which recently relocated
to the entertainment complex.
Susilo, a member of parliament's Commission I on security, defense and foreign
affairs, said it appeared as if Imron was being entitled to “special treatment”, adding
the incident would prompt public speculation of a conspiracy between the convict and
police.
He said Commission I would summon National Police General Dai Bachtiar next week
to explain the reasons for the outing if police fail to clarify the matter.
Fellow commission member Yasril Ananta Baharuddin said he was "shocked" by the
"highly inappropriate" public appearance of the bomber.
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation chairman Munarman was quoted by The Australian
daily as saying the incident was "extraordinarily strange".
Also present at Starbucks with Imron and Mere was psychologist Sarlito Wirawan,
who lectures at the University of Indonesia and often works with police.
Upon leaving the coffeehouse, Imron told reporters it was normal for him to go out with
Mere.
Police said Mere, who has been credited with playing a key role in tracking down and
arresting several of the Bali bombers, had taken Imron to the coffeehouse to assist
with an investigation.
But Imron's lawyer Suyatno said the meeting was held to discuss preparations to
transfer the convict to a prison in his home province of East Java.
Police insisted the convicted bomber’s unconventional public appearance was in line
with proper procedures. "As long as everything was done following the proper
procedure and that the security aspect was properly addressed, then we deem that
there was nothing wrong with that," National Police spokesman Inspector General
Paiman was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
Paiman said that although Imron was not handcuffed during the visit, there was no risk
of him escaping because he was “surrounded” by plainclothes police officers inside
and outside the building.
Downer
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer opted not to criticize the
police’s decision to take Imron out for coffee.
"Different things are done in different countries in different ways, but we certainly don't
want him to be released," he was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Downer said his department had been assured that Imron would not be released or
able to escape. “He was seen with some Indonesian prison guards and soldiers, but
he is serving a life sentence. We've made absolutely sure he's not going to be
released. These are the worst type of criminals, terrorists,” he said.
Baasyir
Imron is the brother of two other key Bali bombers, Amrozi and Mukhlas, who are now
on death row.
Although convicted of involvement in building and transporting the main bomb used in
the attacks, Imron was spared the death penalty because he expressed remorse
during his trial and apologized to the victims of the attacks. He also cooperated with
the police by providing details of the operation.
Imron gave evidence against Jemaah Islamiyah’s suspected spiritual leader Abu
Bakar Baasyir last year and is expected to again testify when the cleric goes on trial
for terrorism later this year.
Baasyir’s lawyer Qadar Faisal said Wednesday’s meeting points to a conspiracy
between Imron and police. “The target is clearly Baasyir because he is focus and
priority of the police," he was quoted as saying by detikcom.
He predicted police would devise a series of confessions from people such as Imron
and fellow Bali bomber Mubarok to be used in Baasyir’s new trial.
In May, one of the lawyers for Imron, Amrozi and Mukhlas said the three brothers had
refused to testify in the new trial planned for Baasyir. "I met with Ali Imron at Jakarta
Police headquarters... He said that he and his two other brothers have been told to
testify in the trial of Ustadz [teacher] Abu Bakar Baasyir but they say they refused,"
said lawyer Achmad Michdan.
He did not explain why the brothers have refused to testify, but in an earlier media
interview the trio claimed Baasyir was not linked to the Bali bombings and would have
tried to stop them if he had known about the plot.
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