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FPI leader named suspect
SWEET SURRENDER: Police round up 59 members of the FPI at the group's headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday
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SWEET SURRENDER: Police round up 59 members of the FPI at the group's headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. The detained put up no resistance after saying on Monday they would "fight to the last drop of blood". (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)
Police on Wednesday questioned Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Habib Rizieq Shihab, declaring him a suspect in Sunday's attack on a peaceful rally for religious tolerance.
Rizieq was among 59 members of the radical group who were rounded up by an 800-strong police force at its headquarters in Petamburan, Central Jakarta, earlier in the day.
The police said they released four of the 59 people later in the day because they were not involved in the incident.
However, Rizieq was still questioned at the Jakarta Police office at around 10:30 p.m, according his lawyer Ahmad Michdan.
"We have named Habib Rizieq Shihab a suspect in protecting and hiding the attackers," National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira said.
He said Rizieq would not be detained because he was only threatened with a prison term of nine months.
"We would detain a suspect whose potential punishment term is five years or more," he said.
The FPI was blamed for a violent attack on activists of the National Alliance for the Freedom of Faith and Religion (AKKBB), who were rallying Sunday at the Monument National (Monas) to mark the 63rd year of Pancasila state ideology.
The peaceful rally was also in support of Jamaah Ahmadiyah, a minority Islamic sect dubbed "heretical" by a government panel that also recommended a ban on it.
The police had earlier said they had identified 20 suspects for playing significant roles in the incident, including Rizieq and Islam Troop Command leader Munarman.
National Police chief Gen. Sutanto said Munarman, a former human rights activist, was a "fugitive" and currently the target of a police manhunt.
"We ask him to immediately surrender himself to the police, the sooner the better," he told the press at the State Palace.
"He publicly said he was responsible for the attack. The police are currently processing this case, so we urge him to give up," Sutanto added.
Michdan said he had been contacting Munarman's family members since Tuesday evening but still could not find him.
Wahid Institute executive director Ahmad Suaedy, who was among some 70 activists injured in the Sunday attack, voiced disappointment with the police for their decision not to detain Rizieq.
"The police should not only charge him with protecting and hiding the perpetrators. They should also hold him as a suspect who must take the responsibility for the incident," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
"He is the top leader of a group that often commits violence in the country. It doesn't make any sense that the police would release such a person."
Legal Aid Center for the Press expert Hendrayana said Article 221 of the Criminal Code allows police not to detain a suspect threatened with less than five years' imprisonment.
"But they have the authority to detain the suspect if deemed necessary. It depends on the case. If the suspect is believed to protect criminals, police could detain him or her," he added.
Police raided the FPI headquarters early in the morning and detained 59 alleged extremists without significant resistance.
Only three days ago, Rizieq said his followers would resist arrest "to our last drop of blood" but as police moved in Wednesday he called for calm.
"Please, there should be no one obstructing the duties of the police," he told supporters at the scene.
On Monday night, several police officers had met Rizieq in his house and left after a one-hour talk without making any arrests.
The police said they would announce the number of official suspects in the incident on Thursday.
Abubakar said three of the four released detainees, aged under 17 years, admitted they were FPI members, while one did not belong to the hard-line group. (ind/trw)
