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| Southeast Asia |
| Abu Jibril sprung |
| 2004-10-27 |
| After spending more than three years behind bars in Malaysia and Indonesia, radical Indonesian cleric Abu Jibril is finally a free man. He was released from Central Jakarta's Salemba jail at 12.10am Thursday after a serving a sentence of five months and 15 days for immigration offenses. Jibril alias Muhammad Iqbal Abdul Rahman (47) was first arrested in Malaysia on June 30, 2001, during a crackdown on local militant organization Kumpulan Militan Malaysia and regional terrorism group Jemaah Islamiyah. He was detained for two years under Malaysia's tough Internal Security Act on suspicion of links to terrorism. He was then held for almost a year on immigration violations, before being deported on May 14, 2004. Jibril was immediately taken into custody upon his arrival in Jakarta. Prosecutors initially accused him of involvement in several bombings in Indonesia but later dropped the charges due to a lack of evidence. Central Jakarta District Court on October 19 sentenced Jibril to five months and 15 days in jail for falsifying his identity, after he confessed to having provided false data to obtain a passport from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur in April 1999. He had changed his name to Fihiruddin Moqtie bin Abdul Rahman on his identity card and later identified himself as Muhammad Iqbal bin Arrahman to obtain the passport, which also stated he was born in Yogyakarta, whereas his actual birthplace was Lombok island in West Nusa Tenggara province. He also admitted to using a broker and colluding with an embassy official to get the passport. The cleric was released on Thursday as he had already served more than five months on remand. "Abu Jibril left Salemba jail at 12.10am precisely. He is in good health and feels relieved to be free," his lawyer Munarman was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal. The lawyer said Jibril's first act as a free man would be to have a pre-dawn meal with members of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), which is chaired by his older brother Irfan S. Awwas. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |