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Thamrin bombings case witness says he learned radicalism from Telegram app, news portal
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Police officers take cover behind a car while engaging in a gun battle with a group of terrorists on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Jan. 14, 2016.
(Antara/M Agung Rajasa)
D
enying prosecutors' allegations that his terror attack on a North Sumatra Police checkpoint post was inspired by the radical teachings of cleric Aman Abdurrahman, Syawaluddin Pakpahan testified in the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday that he learned about radicalism from websites and messaging service Telegram.
Syawaluddin, who along with another perpetrator attacked the post in June last year to steal weapons for future attacks, said he had learned about becoming a militant long before he knew Aman, the defendant in the 2016 Thamrin suicide bombings case. He claimed he had never met Aman and only knew about him from the internet.
"I learn about [being a militant] from news websites. I never learn from clerics," said Syawaluddin, who admitted that he could not read the Quran.
He said he followed the latest developments in Syria, a war-stricken country, where terrorist group Islamic State (IS) was established, from instant messaging app Telegram. He said he knew of Aman's writings from a channel on the platform.
He went to war-stricken Syria alone in 2013 and stayed there for six months before being returned to Indonesia by government officials.
He admitted, however, that what the convicted terrorist Aman spread did not contravene his perception about democracy, which he believed was against Islam and Muslims, and the country should get rid of the concept.
"I once partook in a democratic election and cast my vote. But not anymore. I also no longer salute the Indonesian flag," Syawaluddin said.
Aman, who is also known as a supporter of IS, is serving a sentence at Nusa Kambangan maximum-security prison in Central Java for his role in some terror acts in Indonesia. He was indicted for having incited people to commit several terror attacks, including on Jl. MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta on Jan. 14, 2016, which killed eight people including civilians.
