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Medan church attack suspect’s IS links investigated
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On alert — A member of the National Police's Mobile Brigade stands guard in front of the St. Yosep Catholic Church in Medan, North Sumatra, following an attack on Aug. 28. (Antara Photo/Irsan Mulyadi)
T
he National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism unit has moved a teenager, who is a suspect in an attack on St. Yosep Catholic Church in Medan, North Sumatra, to Jakarta for further investigations into terrorism links.
Police will examine the teenager’s alleged involvement with a terror network led by Bahrun Naim and linked to the Islamic State movement.
North Sumatra Police spokesperson Rina Sari Ginting said the investigation into the teenager’s case by the Medan Police had finished. The Densus 88 team had taken the suspect to Jakarta to expand its investigation into the attack, she added.
“The suspect has been taken by the Densus 88 team to Jakarta today,” Rina told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
His lawyer confirmed the report. “His parents have called me, saying [he] is no longer at the Medan Police. He has been taken to Jakarta,” the lawyer said. A legal team from the Association of Indonesian Advocates (Peradi) would accompany the teenager during his stay in Jakarta, he went on.
The lawyer criticized the suspect’s removal after the police connected him with Bahrun Naim’s radical group. He said his client had never been in touch with the suspected terrorist, blamed for the Sarinah attack in Jakarta in January.
“[The teenager] was never in touch with Bahrun Naim,” said the lawyer.
Meanwhile, National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius said his institution could prove that in carrying out his attack, the teenager was connected with Bahrun. “It’s a fact. We can prove it,” he said on Wednesday.
The teenager, who graduated from senior high school last year, attempted to carry out a suicide bombing during Sunday Mass at the church on Jl. Dr. Mansyur in Medan on Aug. 28. (ebf)
Editor's note: In accordance with the recommendation of the Press Council, this article has been corrected on Dec. 13, 2023, taking into account the responsibility to protect children.
