LAKSAMANA.Net, December 2, 2004 11:57 PM
Flimsy Initial Testimonies at Baasyir Trial
Laksamana.Net - Ten witnesses have so far testified in the ongoing terrorism trial of
radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, but prosecutors are yet to provide strong
evidence linking him to the Bali nightclub bombings and the blast at Jakarta's JW
Marriott Hotel.
South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (30/11/04) heard testimony from five
witnesses, while another five testified on Thursday. Five more are scheduled to testify
next Thursday.
Baasyir (66) is accused of being the spiritual leader of regional terrorism network
Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for a series of deadly bombings across
Indonesia.
The cleric is accused of planning and/or inciting the October 12, 2002, Bali nightclub
bombings that killed 202 people, and the August 5, 2003, blast that killed 12 people
at the JW Marriott Hotel in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta.
He is charged with conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, deliberately assisting
terrorists, withholding information on acts of terrorism, and visiting a terrorism training
camp at Mindanao island in the southern Philippines in April 2002.
Prosecutors have also charged him in relation to the discovery of a cache of
explosives in Central Java province in July 2004. He is also accused of disseminating
an edict from Osama bin Laden calling for the killing of Americans and their allies.
Baasyir, who was arrested shortly after the Bali bombings, could face the death
penalty if convicted.
The cleric, who leads the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), was last year cleared
on charges of treason, leading Jemaah Islamiyah and using violence in an attempt to
overthrow the government, but convicted of immigration violations and forging
documents. He has strongly denied any involvement in terrorism.
Prosecutors are scheduled to summon 76 witnesses during his current trial, which
started on October 28. Under Indonesian law, the trial must conclude within five
months.
Following are details of the first 10 witnesses and their testimonies:
1. Sri Lestari
Indonesian. The 29-year-old widow of Edi Sucipto (31), a Marriott security guard, who
was the 12th person to die from the bombing. He had been working for the hotel for
only 10 days when the bombing occurred. Sucipto was hospitalized with severe burns
covering 80% his body and later passed away on August 12 at Central Jakarta's Cipto
Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM).
"At the time [of the bombing] I was in Pasar Minggu [in South Jakarta]. At 1.30pm I
received a telephone call that my husband, Edi Sucipto, was hit by the bomb blast. I
rushed to RSCM and found him there," said Lestari.
She sobbed as she recounted how Sucipto suffered for more than a week in the
hospital before dying. "For eight days, I saw him with a tube going into his mouth and
I could not communicate with him," she said.
Lestari said she did not know of any hard evidence linking Baasyir to the Marriott
bombing, as she had only heard of his alleged involvement from media reports. "I don't
know whether Ustadz [teacher] Abu Bakar Baasyir was directly involved. And I don't
know who the perpetrators or planners were."
She said she had not followed Baasyir's case prior to the Marriott bombing and
therefore had known nothing about him.
Baasyir declined to respond to Lestari's testimony. "I do not know the full matter. I do
not have any relationship with the witness," he said.
2. Husni
Indonesian. His brother-in-law, Harna (37), was one of five taxi drivers killed at the
scene of the blast. He died from horrific injuries while parking his Silver Bird taxi when
the bomb exploded.
"My brother was parking. His head was cut off and could not be found anywhere even
until now. His legs were also gone. Only his arms were still intact," Husni was quoted
as saying by Reuters. The Kompas daily quoted him as saying he saw Harna's body
in hospital but his legs had been cut off at the thigh, his hands were burned and "his
face was no longer recognizable".
Husni said he did not know the perpetrators or planners of the bombing, nor whether
Baasyir was involved in the attack.
"I only knew from the mass media that he was a teacher and the head of an Islamic
boarding school. Other matters I didn't know about. I also did not know whether Abu
Bakar Baasyir was being detained prior [to the bombing]," he said.
Husni said he had only heard from police officers investigating the bombing that
Baasyir was a suspect.
3. Syamsul Bahri bin Husin
Malaysian. Alias Farhan (37). A member of Jemaah Islamiyah, he fled to Indonesia in
2002 to evade arrest in Malaysia.
He told the court that his brother-in-law Mukhlas, now on death row for involvement in
the Bali bombings, had informed him that Baasyir had taken over the leadership of
Jemaah Islamiyah after the group's alleged founder Abdullah Sungkar died in 1999.
Bahri said he had met Baasyir several times in Malaysia and Pakistan, but never in
Indonesia and had never personally witnessed him acting as leader of Jemaah
Islamiyah.
He also said he believed Jemaah Islamiyah had no links to terrorism.
Bahri was arrested in Indonesia in September 2003. In July 2004 he was sentenced to
three years in jail for helping to plan the Bali and Marriott bombings, withholding
information on the plots, faking identity documents, and violating the immigration law
by entering Indonesia illegally.
According to evidence cited by prosecutors during his trial, Bahri had studied in the
US in 1989, joined Jemaah Islamiyah in 1993 and attended terror training camps in
Afghanistan.
Prosecutors had also said he surveyed targets for Jemaah Islamiyah's suspected
main bomb-maker, Azahari, who is also a Malaysian and remains at large somewhere
in Indonesia.
4. Amran bin Mansur
Malaysian. Alias Andi Saputra (39). He fled to Indonesia in 2003 to avoid arrest in
Malaysia. He told the court he had heard that Baasyir took over the leadership of
Jemaah Islamiyah following Sungkar's death.
"I did hear people saying that Baasyir was selected to replace Abdullah Sungkar as JI
leader but some people also said that it was Abu Rusdan, not Abu Bakar Baasyir," he
was quoted as saying by The Jakarta Post daily.
Amran was arrested in February 2004 in the Central Java city of Solo while selling
meatballs from a pushcart. He is accused of supplying explosives used in the Marriott
bombing and a series of church bombings on Christmas Eve in 2000 that left 19
people dead and more than 100 injured.
According to police, Amran also supplied six revolvers to Imam Samudra, the
mastermind of the Bali bombings.
5. Jafar bin Anwarul
Malaysian. Also reported to have Singaporean citizenship. He told the court he had
undergone military training at a Jemaah Islamiyah camp in Moro, the southern
Philippines, and had "deepened" his "religious studies" in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Jafar admitted to meeting Baasyir, but said the cleric had never advised, encouraged
or inspired him to carry out bombings. "He ordered to me to be careful and patient.
Because many tests were there [in Moro]. But I was not aware of what these tests
were," he was quoted as saying by Kompas.
He said the military training in the Philippines was only intended to help the
participants defend their fellow Muslims from oppression, such as in Afghanistan.
Jafar insisted that bombings in Indonesia were not was the aim of Jemaah Islamiyah's
activities.
He said there were two training camps in Moro – Abu Bakar and Hudaibiyah – but he
did not know whether Baasyir had ever visited or contributed to them.
The camps were run on Mindanao by the Philippine rebel group, the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front.
6. Yudi Lukito Kurniawan
Indonesian. Alias Ismail Abdurrahman. The 30-year-old militant admitted he had
studied bomb making and weapons handling at Jemaah Islamiyah's Camp Abu Bakar
in the southern Philippines.
He said Baasyir had visited the camp as "a guest" in 2000 to inspect a graduation
class and gave a speech calling for Islamic brotherhood.
"He was not the commander there. He was a guest… I saw him for about five to 10
minutes. He told us that all Muslims are brothers so we have to help each other
everywhere," said Lukito.
Baasyir denied having visited the Philippines in 2000. "In 2000 I was in Indonesia and I
didn't go anywhere," he was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse.
7. Ismail
Indonesian. Aliases include Ricky Putranto and Mohammad Ichwan (29). The
convicted Marriott bomber told the court the attack was inspired by Osama bin
Laden's edict to wage war against the US and its allies. He said Baasyir had not
inspired, ordered, incited, funded or facilitated the attack.
Ismail said that only five people knew about the bomb plot: Azahari, Noordin
Mohammad Top, Tohir, suicide bomber Asmar Latin Sani, and himself.
"This bombing was inspired by Osama bin Laden's fatwa stating that war must be
waged against Americans and their allies. The fatwa was received by Noordin M.
Top," he said.
Ismail expressed regret that most of the victims were Muslims and not Americans
living in Indonesia.
He said the Marriott was selected by Noordin because it was the easiest target. "I
carried out surveys before the bombing. The JW Marriott Hotel was selected as the
target because its security could be easily penetrated."
Ismail, who denied being a member of Jemaah Islamiyah, said the bomb was
assembled in Lampung province by Azahari, with assistance from himself and Tohir.
The bomb was later brought to Jakarta in a Toyota Kijang and handed over to Asmar
Latin Sari.
Ismail admitted that he and Azahari witnessed the bombing from a distance of about
200 meters, shortly after praying with Latin Sani.
He said that after the attack, he had fled to the West Java capital of Bandung with
Azahari, Tohir and Noordin. They took explosives with them, he added.
Ismail admitted to meeting Baasyir in 1995 when the cleric gave a talk at the
Lukmanul Hakim Islamic School in Johor Baru, Malaysia. The militant school was led
by Mukhlas and Noordin.
The witness said he never saw Baasyir giving inflammatory speeches demanding
attacks on "Muslim enemies".
Responding to Ismail's testimony, Baasyir said he knew nothing about the Marriott
explosion, but admitted having given the talk at the Malaysian school.
Ismail was arrested in October 2003 in the West Java city of Cirebon. In September
2004 he was sentenced to 12 years in jail for transporting and storing the explosives
used in the hotel attack; assisting in the assembly of the bomb; and renting a house
for the bombers on Jalan Kemuning in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.
He was also found guilty of purchasing a motorbike that he and Azahari used to
survey at least four possible targets: the Marriott, the Jakarta International School, a
Citibank outlet and an American school.
Ismail and Azahari also used the motorbike to follow Latin Sani as he drove the Kijang
to the hotel.
8. Tohir
Indonesian. Alias Masrizal bin Ali Umar. The convicted Marriott bomber said Noordin
Top was the mastermind of the attack. He said the bombing had not been assisted,
funded, inspired or blessed by Baasyir.
Echoing Ismail's testimony, he said the attack was perpetrated by only five people:
Azahari, Noordin M. Top, Asmar Latin Sani, Ismail and himself.
Tohir who was arrested with Ismail in Cirebon in October 2003. He was sentenced in
September 2004 to 10 years for buying the Kijang used in the attack and helping to
transport the explosives.
9. Muhammad Rais
Indonesian. The 29-year-old self-confessed Jemaah Islamiyah member admitted to
delivering a message in 2001 from Osama bin Laden to Baasyir, inviting him to live in
Afghanistan if he didn't feel secure in Indonesia.
The court heard that bin Laden had given the message to the alleged former head of
Jemaah Islamiyah, Hambali, who passed it on to Rais when they met in Pakistan.
Rais said he then delivered the invitation to Baasyir when he visited the cleric's
Al-Mukmin Islamic Boarding School, where he had studied as a youth, in Ngruki, near
the Central Java city of Solo.
He said Baasyir's response to the invitation was: "God-willing."
Rais told the court he believed the Marriott bombing was inspired by bin Laden. "I met
with Osama bin Laden frequently in Afghanistan and heard him speak about waging
war against America and its allies. We saw the Marriott attack as a message from
Osama bin Laden," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
After giving his testimony, Rais embraced and kissed Baasyir as the court adjourned
for lunch. After the adjournment, Baasyir denied he had met with Rais or received the
invitation.
Rais was in May 2004 sentenced to seven years in jail for helping transport chemicals
used in the Marriott bombing.
Hambali was arrested in the Philippines in August 2003 and is now being detained by
the US at an undisclosed location.
10. Bambang Tetuko
Indonesian. The university lecturer from the Central Java capital of Semarang said he
joined Jemaah Islamiyah in 1989 in Solo and served as the group's treasurer for the
province.
Tetuko told the court he was certain that Baasyir was Jemaah Islamiyah's emir or
spiritual leader.
He recounted that at a meeting of Jemaah Islamiyah members in Bogor, south of
Jakarta, in July or August 2000, Baasyir had been asked how he could
simultaneously lead the group and the Indonesian Mujahidin Council.
Tetuko said the cleric responded by saying both there were "benefits" in both position.
Baasyir denied attending any meetings in Bogor in July and August 2000, saying he
was preoccupied with preparations for MMI's first congress.
Next Five Witnesses
The next five witnesses to testify at Baasyir's trial are: Rusman Gunawan, Utomo,
Samuri Farich, Adi Suryana and Idris.
Gunawan, the younger brother of Hambali, was arrested at Abu Bakar Islamic
University in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi in September 2003 for alleged
involvement in a 'sleeper cell' of Jemaah Islamiyah.
He was deported last December and charged with terrorism. In October 2004, he was
sentenced to four years in jail for helping transfer money used in the Marriott bombing.
Utomo alias Abu Farouq was arrested in Lampung last year for allegedly planning
acts of terrorism, including a plot to blow up National Police headquarters in Jakarta.
Samuri Farich alias Mushoffa, also from Lampung, was arrested last year for allegedly
forming a terrorist cell. In July 2004 he was sentenced to three years in jail for
attending a series of meetings in West Java and Central Java to plan future terrorist
attacks. One of the meetings reportedly involved tuition in bomb making from Azahari.
Adi Suryana alias Qital, a chemical engineer and Islamic militant with experience in
Afghanistan and the Philippines, was arrested in January 2004 in the East Java
capital of Surabaya for allegedly teaching bomb making classes for Jemaah
Islamiyah. In November 2004 he was sentenced to four years in jail for involvement in
an attack on the Philippine ambassador's Jakarta residence in July 2000, as well as
the Christmas Eve church bombings in the same year.
Idris alias Jhoni Hendrawan alias Gembrot (Fatso), was arrested in the North Sumatra
capital of Medan in June 2003 for alleged involvement in the Bali and Marriott
bombings. In August 2004 he was sentenced to 10 years in jail for helping transport
explosives used in the Marriott attack. Even though he had admitted to helping plan
the Bali bombings, he escaped punishment after the Supreme Court's controversial
ruling that Indonesia's on Anti-Terrorism Law No.16/2003 cannot be used retroactively.
Prosecution Confident
Despite some of the weak testimonies against Baasyir, state prosecutors are
confident that future witnesses will provide more damning evidence against the cleric.
Chief prosecutor Salman Maryadi said Thursday he was certain that Baasyir was the
"intellectual actor" behind the Marriott bombing, even though he played no direct role
in the field.
He said that according to Article 55 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, someone can plan a
"sinister act" without being directly involved in the act.
Maryadi said the testimonies from Ismail and Tohir represent only a fraction of the 76
witness testimonies that will eventually be heard. "So we are not worried the
accusations have been weakened," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online
news portal.
It remains to be seen whether any of the upcoming witnesses will be able to provide
the court with irrefutable evidence that Baasyir is responsible for the Bali and Marriott
attacks.
Analysts are expecting some of the strongest testimonies to come from Jemaah
Islamiyah members detained in Malaysia and Singapore. At this stage it appears
unlikely the US will allow Hambali to testify.
‘Judges Terrorized'
Presiding judge Sudarto during Tuesday's trial session warned Baasyir's rowdy
supporters in the courtroom to behave themselves. "The judges feel terrorized by the
supporters who jeer every now and then," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Baasyir and his supporters, mostly MMI members, argue the trial is the result of
pressure from the US and Australia on Indonesia. They accuse the US and its allies
of using the war on terror to attack Islam.
The cleric's supporters loudly shout "Allahu Akbar [God is Great]" each time Baasyir
enters and leaves the courtroom. They also sometimes jeer when statements not to
their liking.
In September, Baasyir's supporters clashed with police when South Jakarta District
Court threw out the cleric's pre-trial lawsuit that claimed he had been wrongfully
arrested and detained on terrorism charges.
The violence erupted after presiding judge Syamsul Ali ruled that police had arrested
and detained Baasyir in line with the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Dozens of MMI members were enraged by the decision and shouted insults such as
"tyrannical judge!" and "American judge!". One of the cleric's supporters then took off
his sandal and threw it at the judges. Pasar Minggu District Police chief
Commissioner Didi tried to calm down the angry crowd but was punched in the head
by one of the cleric's supporters.
Dozens of South Jakarta Police officers quickly entered the courtroom and traded
blows with Baasyir's supporters before forcing them to leave. No arrests were made.
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