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| Southeast Asia |
| Jakarta charges Hambali’s brother |
| 2003-12-19 |
| Indonesian police will charge the brother of Hambali -- a key Southeast Asian terrorism suspect with alleged ties to al Qaeda -- and three other Islamic students with "facilitating" terrorism. The police said the four allegedly helped Hambali, the suspected leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) organization, which is held responsible for the Bali night club bombings that killed 202 people. "They are formally arrested beginning today for deliberately facilitating acts of terrorism," police Brig. Gen. Sunarko told a news conference Thursday. "These people helped Hambali." The four were among six Indonesian students deported last week from Pakistan, which accused them of having ties to JI. Two of the students were released Tuesday for lack of evidence. Relatives of the four suspects, including Hambali’s younger brother Rusman Gunawan, have said they were simply students and had no terrorist links. "They’re good boys." But Pakistani authorities have said the men were suspected of being part of JI and believe Gunawan was running the Pakistan branch of the group. Gunawan also reportedly told Indonesian consulate officials in the southern port city of Karachi that he sent $50,000 to Hambali. But he has no connection to terrorists, nope, none. |
| Posted by:Steve |