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IS teachings spread from within Nusakambangan prison
The supervision of terror convicts within prisons on the Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, remains weak, enabling them to spread radical teachings among followers from inside their cells, says a local military official
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he supervision of terror convicts within prisons on the Nusakambangan prison island in Cilacap, Central Java, remains weak, enabling them to spread radical teachings among followers from inside their cells, says a local military official.
Wijaya Kusuma 071 Military Command chief Col. Edison told the media in Banyumas on Sunday that lax security and supervision allowed prominent terror convict Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, confined in the Pasir Putih penitentiary, to maintain his hostile stance against the state.
'Every week we record at least 15 people visiting Ba'asyir. Even worse, all the convicts there are placed in a single block, so it's like a pesantren [religious school]' said Edison. 'Based on data I've received, 900 people visited Ba'asyir in 2014. During the visits, many of them waited for sermons delivered by Ba'asyir.'
He said Ba'asyir, who is serving a 15-year prison term, remained adamant that Indonesia was still an infidel state that must be fought.
Edison said he had recently met Ba'asyir at the prison and regarded him as still a die-hard opponent of the state. Ba'asyir even warned Edison that it was wrong of him to undertake his duties to the state.
'I met Ba'asyir in the prison on Nusakambangan recently and he accused me of defending an infidel state,' Edison said.
Based on the facts, he said all relevant parties on Nusakambangan should raise their security awareness, especially regarding terror convicts and their visitors.
He said security and supervision must be heightened, especially monitoring of visitors who visited the terror convicts, including Ba'asyir.
He added that it would be dangerous if the matter was overlooked as Ba'asyir continued to spread his subversive teachings from prison, which were then forwarded by his followers to the public in general.
Edison urged prison authorities to conduct tight inspections and limit those visiting the terror convicts. 'Just allow their families to visit them,' he said. In that way the connection between the terror convicts and followers could be ended and the spread of radical ideologies could be limited.
The spread of radical Islamic teachings, including the Islamic State (IS) movement, from inside Nusakambangan is not a new issue. Recently, a number of IS members, including a person who claimed to be the president of IS Indonesia, Chep Hermawan, visited Ba'asyir on Nusakambangan.
The IS members, who also carried IS flags and paraphernalia during the visit, were at one point held by the Cilacap Police, but were released after they denied they were IS members.
Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Noer Ali confirmed that the IS movement had entered Indonesia and spread from Nusakambangan. He told the media in Semarang that Ba'asyir was the person who promoted IS from inside the prison.
'Ba'asyir previously claimed he supported IS,' said Noer, adding that he was coordinating with various institutions to prevent IS teachings from spreading on Nusakambangan.
Separately, Central Java Law and Human Rights Office Corrections Division head A. Yuspahruddin said his office could not handle the situation on Nusakambangan alone. 'We urge the Indonesian Military, National Police and Cilacap regency administration to jointly secure Nusakambangan. We have limited personnel to secure Nusakambangan as a whole,' Yuspahruddin told The Jakarta Post.
