Aides, protégés help Ba’asyir’s conviction

Strong support: A cleric speaks before hundreds of Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid members on Thursday at South Jakarta District Court in support of hard-line cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir. Ba’asyir is known as the spiritual leader of several groups involved in deadly terrorist attacks. His followers jogged in circles outside the court after his trial ended, cursing the United States and the National Police’s Detachment 88 as the real devils. JP/Wendra Ajisyatama

Militant cleric Abu Bakar Ba’asyir was brought down before the law by his very own supposedly loyal aides and followers, who testified about his role in setting up a terrorist training camp in Aceh.

The South Jakarta District Court on Thursday sentenced Ba’asyir to 15 years in prison for planning, helping and financing a terrorist training camp in the mountainous area of Jantho, Aceh.

Police raided the camp in February last year and believe it was set up to train a paramilitary group that could have launched coordinating attacks similar to the 2008 Mumbai incident that killed 164 people.

But Ba’asyir may be out of the loop if not because of testimony by his aides and protégés, notably Lutfi “Ubaid” Haidaroh, the treasurer of Jamaah Anshorut Tauhid (JAT), an organization Ba’asyir founded.

Ubaid was a fixer and courier between Ba’asyir and his Aceh field operatives. Ubaid testified that he received Rp 175 million (US$20,472) from Ba’asyir.

Ubaid, who once served three-and-a-half years in prison for hiding terrorist Noordin M. Top before being released in 2007, was among Ba’asyir’s favorite students at the Ngruki Islamic boarding school in Surakarta, Central Java.

The panel of judges on Thursday said witnesses, including Ubaid, confirmed that Ba’asyir had discussed plans to set up the camp at a home-office located near Ba’asyir’s Ngruki boarding school.

“Ubaid submitted a video of activities at the training camp in Aceh to Ba’asyir, who later showed the video to donors Hariyadi Usman and Syarief Usman as proof that their donations were well spent,” presiding judge Herri Swantoro said.

He said money had been collected from three other donors as well: Abu Thoyib (Rp 75 million), Syarif Usman (Rp 200 million) and Haryadi Usman (Rp 150 million). Haryadi and Syarif were among Ba’asyir’s loyal followers at JAT. The latter was a physician who often performed check-ups on Ba’asyir.

For counterterrorism officials, the raid on the Aceh camp was a gold mine as it has led to the arrest and raids of many high-profile terrorism suspects.

Fugitive terrorist suspect Dulmatin, believed to have masterminded the deadly 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, was killed in a police raid late last year after police received leads from those involved in the Aceh camp.

Master terrorism recruiter Aman Abdurrahman was also put on trial in a related case. The court sentenced Aman to nine years in prison for helping fund the camp.

Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) field commander Abu Tholut was also arrested by police for his role as an instructor at the Aceh camp.

A graduate of the military academy class of 1987/1988 on the Afghan-Pakistan border during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, Tholut boasts skills in making high-explosive bombs and has networks with financiers in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Middle East.

Tholut is one of Ba’asyir’s protégés.

Judges in Ba’asyir’s trial said Tholut testified in court that Ba’asyir’s aides Ubaid and Abdul Haris had given him Rp 140 million to run the camp.

Ba’asyir, who claimed police had pressured and engineered the witnesses’ statement, would appeal
the verdict.

“I will not accept this proceeding as it is made by infidels. It is haram [prohibited under Islam] to comply with the rulings,” Ba’asyir said.

National Police chief Gen. Timur Pradopo called on the public to respect the verdict.

“Some people may be satisfied with the verdict and others not. But we have to comply with any decision made in a court of law,” he said.

Timur added that the police and military remained on high alert over a possible string of terrorist attacks by Ba’asyir followers in the wake of the verdict.

“Terrorist groups are increasingly targeting police,” he said.

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd welcomed the conviction, saying Indonesia had shown resolve in fighting terror.

“The Australian government hopes this conviction brings some measure of justice to the families of the victims,” Rudd said in a statement as quoted by Reuters on Thursday.

“Abu Bakar Ba’asyir’s arrest and successful prosecution were the result of effective work by Indonesian authorities and full credit goes to them.”

Ba’asyir, who does not have wide support in Indonesia, is the spiritual leader of the terrorist groups behind the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy, the 2003 bombing of the JW Mariott hotel, and the 2009 bombing of the JW Mariott and Ritz Carlton hotels.

Former military intelligence agency (BAIS) chief Arie Sudewo said Ba’asyir had already recruited numerous protégés through his sermons on turning Indonesia into an Islamic country that began in the early 1980s.

“His influence cannot be underestimated. His students and early followers still dot the country. They should not be overlooked,” said Arie, the first officer to look into Ba’asyir’s radical teachings and movement.

Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, has not seen any major terrorist attacks since 2010, a condition widely praised by the international community, which has started to highlight the country as an investment destination.

But Ba’asyir’s conviction may fuel resentment among militant groups, which see the 72-year-old cleric as a symbol of the movement against injustices against the Muslim community worldwide.

“The threat of terrorism will remain,” former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief AM Hendropriyono said Thursday.

“The conviction will at least reduce the chance that people will be exposed and exploited by Ba’asyir into committing violence.”

— Additional reporting by Apriadi Gunawan