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| Southeast Asia |
| Court ban on Jemaah Islamiyah |
| 2008-04-23 |
| Up until now it's not been an offence in Indonesia to belong to the organisation behind the Bali bombings. Indeed there was even talk about whether Jemaah Islamiyah actually existed and so how could it be possibly banned or anyone be charged with being a member of it. Now a court in Jakarta has declared Jemaah Islamiyah to be a "forbidden corporation" as it sentenced two senior JI leaders each to 15 years jail. Analysts believe the decision could open the door to more prosecutions. From Jakarta, Indonesia Correspondent Geoff Thompson reports. GEOFF THOMPSON: Jemaah Islamiyah's militant head, Abu Dujana is sentenced to 15 years gaol is South Jakarta's district court. Receiving the same sentence, despite prosecutor's demands for life terms and the JI leader who is known as Zarkasih. Both men were arrested last year in raids assisted by the Australian Federal Police. Both were found guilty of concealing weapons, ammunition and explosives with the intention of carrying out terrorist acts. Abu Dujana was also found guilty of organising funding and aiding and abetting terrorists including Indonesia's most wanted JI fugitive, Nordan Mohammed Top (phoentic). More unexpected was the court's declaration that through the trials of these two men, JI had been proven to exist, with a structure, funding and board members and was therefore a forbidden corporation. The international crisis group's JI specialist - Sydney Jones. SYDNEY JONES: This decision comes closer to banning JI as an organisation and closer to declaring it an illegal organisations than anything we've had thus far. GEOFF THOMPSON: Jemaah Islamiyah has long been prescribed as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations but Indonesian ministers and even vice-president Jusuf Kalla have said that JI's secretiveness made it impossible to ban. The University of Indonesia's professor of criminology Adrianus Meliala is one of those lawyers who believes the ruling will not greatly change the already aggressive pursuit of JI members by Indonesia's national police. ADRIANUS MELIALA: The police is now, you know, following their own, their own mind. There is a first, waiting for the resident, waiting for the political signal before conducting aggressive method against JI as well as its followers. GEOFF THOMPSON: The recent arrests in Malaysia and deportation to Indonesia of two more senior JI members, Abu Husna and Dr Agus Purwanto, is expected to reveal more about JI's membership. SYDNEY JONES: If we get more names and information coming out of the arrest that was announced last week, this may make it easier for the police to actually arrest and charge individuals who are also members of the central command. GEOFF THOMPSON: Analysts say a decision like this back in 2002 or 2003 would have made it easier to prosecute JI's founding leaders like Abu Bakar Bashir. |
| Posted by:Fred |