Terrorism can include preparations: Expert

In a hearing on Wednesday on the ongoing trial of terrorism defendant Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, criminal law expert Chairul Huda said the military-style training camp in Aceh that Ba'asyir allegedly helped to fund could be categorized as terrorism.

Terrorism focuses not only on the action of terrorism itself, which normally injures or kills civilians, but also on activities long before the brutal actions take place, he said.

"Preparations, trials, the action of terrorism itself; they are part of the definition of terrorism, which entails a wide scope of crime," the 40-year-old man said at South Jakarta District Court before a panel of judges.

Chairul said that collecting funds for preparations was among acts of terrorism.

Furthermore, he said that terrorism involved spreading fear or terror, which has massive implications.

"Its victims do not refer to certain persons," Chairul said, adding that it related to a nation's security.

Commenting the use of firearms at the training camp in Aceh, he said such training was something to be wary of.

"Normally, a group of people uses firearms for a separatist revolt. Here, the use of firearms for a military-style training, is something we should be wary of," he said.

Before the hearing, Ba'asyir said the firearms were to be used to defend Islam and to “scare the western world”.

“Our actions were based on the Koran, and we had no intention to kill civilians,” he said. (fem)