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Court ruling gives authorities justification to arrest more JAD members
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Under suspicion: Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) leader Zainal Anshori (center) is escorted into the courtroom for a hearing related to the organization’s disbandment at the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday. JAD has been accused of instigating terror in Indonesia. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
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Tuesday court ruling outlawing Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a homegrown terror group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, provides legal justification for law enforcers to arrest people connected to the group, a prosecutor has said.
Such a move is now possible thanks to the newly added Article 12A in the Terrorism Law enabling law enforcers to prosecute individuals who intentionally recruit for or join an organization declared a terror group by court. Under the revision to the law, enacted in May, violators face a sentence of two to seven years in prison.
"If we refer to Article 12A, every person found of being a member or administrator of JAD can be arrested because the court has declared the organization forbidden," said prosecutor Heri Jerman of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), who handled the JAD case.
On Tuesday, the South Jakarta District Court found JAD guilty of committing a number of terror acts across the country, declaring it a “forbidden organization” and ordering that all of its activities be frozen.
The ruling came only days after the National Police reportedly nabbed five people in Riau on suspicion of being connected with JAD.
The court also ruled that other organizations affiliated with IS be disbanded, without revealing the names of the groups.
Court spokesman Achmad Guntur said the ruling was now applicable to other organizations affiliated with IS.
"However, we don't know how many other groups are also affiliated with IS. We have no capacity to comment on it," he said. (ipa)
