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Jokowi allows Abu Bakar Baasyir to receive treatment at hospital
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Declining health: Police officers escort convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Baasyir to the Cilacap District Court in Central Java for a hearing in February 2016. The radical cleric has been relocated to a hospital over health concerns. (thejakartapost.com/Agus Maryono )
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has granted convicted terrorist Abu Bakar Baasyir permission to be temporarily relocated to a hospital for medical treatment over his declining health.
The ailing radical cleric, who is currently serving his sentence at Gunung Sindur prison in Bogor, West Java, is reported to have been admitted to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Jakarta because of swelling in his legs, possibly due to clogged blood vessels.
“This is about humanity, which I think also applies to all. If there are [prisoners] who suffer from an illness, it’s our job to admit [them] to a hospital to get treatment,” Jokowi told journalists on Thursday.
Baasyir, the spiritual leader of radical group Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, has been in prison for nearly seven years after the Jakarta District Court sentenced him to 15 years' imprisonment in 2011. He was found guilty of funding a military training camp for a terrorist group in Aceh.
The 79-year-old cleric was initially locked up in a high-security prison in Nusakambangan in Cilacap, Central Java. Due to his declining health, authorities relocated him to Gunung Sindur prison in 2016.
Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chairman Maaruf Amin previously called on the President to grant clemency or consider a sentence reduction because of concerns over Baasyir's health.
However, when asked about whether the President would grant a sentence reduction, Jokowi said, “I have yet to receive any [sentence reduction] letter.” (ebf)
