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Agency targets 478 people for deradicalization program
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National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius (right) speaks at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs and laws, human rights and security on Thursday. (Antara/Puspa Perwitasari)
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ational Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius said on Thursday that his institution had detected 478 people who should be involved in the government's out-of-prison deradicalization program. The potential participants were former terror convicts and people with links to terror networks located in 17 provinces, he added.
However, Suhardi continued, the agency only had data on 183 of them.
Citing survey results obtained by the antiterror body, Suhardi also said that approximately 20 percent of former terrorists would repeat their past crimes.
"We are now trying to identify their location, ascertain how they will feel upon release [from prison], where they live, so that we can clearly carry out preventative measures once they are released," Suhardi said.
The BNPT chief was speaking at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission III overseeing legal affairs and laws, human rights and security, on the agency's efforts to curb radicalism.
Suhardi explained that the counselling program consisted of three steps, namely national awareness building activities, fostering religious insight and fostering entrepreneurship skills.
Suhardi also noted the importance of deradicalizing returning foreign fighters to prevent the further spread of radicalism.
There needs to be a legal framework, he continued, adding that the program must also include family members, such as wives and children who had gone along with the foreign fighters and were influenced by their violent ways. (bbn)
