I

n a bid to prevent the spread of radicalism among inmates, the Law and Human Rights Ministry
has rolled out a plan to move all terrorism convicts locked up in the country'€™s prisons to a special facility set up by the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) in Sentul, West Java.

Law and Human Rights Minister Amir Syamsuddin said there were around 280 terrorism convicts locked up in 27 penitentiaries across the country.

'€œTerrorist prisoners tend to spread radical messages to other non-terrorist convicts and even to penitentiary officers. Mostly, they don'€™t have a sense of guilt over what they have done and this has made them difficult to handle during their time at a penitentiary,'€ Amir said at his office after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BNPT on Wednesday.

Amir said that once the terrorism convicts were housed in the special facility, they would be subject to deradicalization programs that would prepare them for reintegration back into their communities.

'€œWe hope later in the community they can show tolerance to other beliefs,'€ Amir said.

BNPT head Ansyaad Mbai said the special facility has been open since July 7 and the work to transfer the terrorism convicts could start on Wednesday, following the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between the agency and the ministry.

However, Ansyaad said there could be a glitch in the deradicalization program as the center could only accommodate around 170 people.

'€œWe will give priority to those who have a high level of radical thinking,'€ Ansyaad said after the MoU signing.

The ministry and the BNPT would invite clerics who once had experience with terrorism, especially from the Middle East, to give lectures at the deradicalization center.

Ansyaad also responded to a report about the opening of branches of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Indonesia. ISIL, which is also known as ISIS, recently proclaimed a '€œCaliphate of the State of Islam'€ with territory stretching from northern Syria to the Iraqi province of Diyala.

He downplayed the possibility that it could open branches in this country.

'€œYes, there is an ongoing discussion about it, but it is unlikely to materialize,'€ he said.

Ansyaad said that people should not worry about such a prospect as most Indonesians would reject even the idea of setting up ISIL branches in their neighborhoods.

'€œHowever, we still have to step up our vigilance because it could lead to a radicalization of Muslims in Indonesia. Even in Arabic countries, it [ISIL] is considered dangerous,'€ Ansyaad said.

Earlier, BNPT said that a terrorist organization lead by Abu Bakar Ba'€™asyir, the spiritual leader of the region'€™s terrorist network who was serving a 15-year prison sentence for terrorism offenses, had help financing and fighting for ISIL.

The BNPT said that Ba'€™asyir had been actively helping ISIL for the past couple of months. It has also estimated at least 30 Indonesians are involved in the jihadist movement in Iraq under ISIL and in Syria with Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), a prominent Salafi jihadist organization with links to al-Qaeda.

The BNPT added that Ba'€™asyir'€™s declaration of support for ISIL would motivate hard-liners to raise more money and join the fray.