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Police arrest possible ISIL-affiliated ice cream seller

Depok Police have arrested an ice cream seller, 36-year-old Firman Hidayat, on suspicion of being affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS

Rusman (The Jakarta Post)
Depok
Sat, August 23, 2014

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Police arrest possible ISIL-affiliated ice cream seller

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epok Police have arrested an ice cream seller, 36-year-old Firman Hidayat, on suspicion of being affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as ISIS.

Police arrested Firman in Beji, Depok, West Java, at 1:30 a.m. on Friday after reports from members of the community that he had hung the ISIL flag on the wall of his house.

'€œSuddenly hundreds of people came with the police to the front of his house. They said he was an ISIL member. However, I don'€™t understand why ISIL is a problem; the flag has been on [the wall of] his house for three days and no one complained,'€ Marina, Firman'€™s aunt, told The Jakarta Post.

Marina said that she was shocked to discover during the raid that Firman also owned three banners and sheets of paper with Arabic writing. The banners and the paper were confiscated by the police when they detained Firman and his father.

Firman'€™s family insisted that he had no connection with the militant group, as for three years he had been selling ice cream in Depok and Monas every day.

Depok Police chief Sr. Comr. Ahmad Subarkah told reporters that Firman was still being detained for questioning, although there was no evidence linking him to ISIL.

'€œWe'€™ve discerned from his testimony and the data on his laptop that he has no connection to ISIL. The flag that he hung up was bought in Senayan [Central Jakarta], and he only bought one,'€ he said.

Subarkah added that the police confiscated the flag, three banners, a laptop and a bag used for storing airsoft guns.

'€œHe'€™s probably a big fan of ISIL, but that doesn'€™t mean that he is a member,'€ he said.

Subarkah added that there was no information as yet regarding ISIL members in Depok, aside from Firman'€™s case.

The Foreign Ministry'€™s deputy head of foreign cooperation, Harry Purwanto, recently cited six hotspots for possible ISIL recruitment centers: Ciledug in Tangerang, the State Islamic University (UIN) in Ciputat (South Tangerang), Bekasi (West Java), Surakarta (Central Java), Malang (East Java) and Bima (West Nusa Tenggara). (fss)

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