TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Islands in focus: FPI leader Rizieq defends Abu Bakar Ba'asyir
The leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) Rizieq Shihab has admitted to having had connections to terrorism convict Abu Bakar Baâasyir through a fundraising initiative, but claimed it was for humanitarian purposes
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
T
he leader of the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) Rizieq Shihab has admitted to having had connections to terrorism convict Abu Bakar Ba'asyir through a fundraising initiative, but claimed it was for humanitarian purposes.
'But the funds given by Ba'asyir was for Muslim interests in general, including for Muslims in Palestine,' Rizieq testified at a judicial review hearing at the Cilacap District Court in Central Java.
He denied that Ba'asyir, who was sentenced by the South Jakarta District Court in 2011 to 15 years in prison for funding military training in Aceh, was guilty as charged.
'He [Ba'asyir] supported a physical training exercise, but it was for Islamic forces, not terrorism,' Rizieq claimed.
