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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesia: Terror suspects charged with forgery |
| 2009-07-01 |
| [ADN Kronos] Five Singaporeans arrested by the Indonesian police for alleged involvement in terrorism have had their charge downgraded to immigration forgery. An unnamed counterterrorism source said the suspects had been monitored for months before their arrest. The police announced last week they had arrested five Singaporeans -- Syamsul Anwar alias Somad bin Soban, Ahmad Kastari, Husaini Ismail, his wife and a child -- as well as an Indonesian identified as Syaifuddin Zuhry, in three different locations. However, after a series of intensive investigations, the police announced that the suspects were only seeking safe refuge within Indonesia. "They will be charged with document forgery, immigration violation and various other offenses," national police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji said Monday. The police previously suspected the group of being involved in an attempt to bomb Changi International Airport and several other strategic locations several years ago. Susno said the five foreigners were fugitives running from Singapore government, but did not elaborate what crimes they had committed in their homelands. "They are currently being detained by the regional police," Susno said. The national police will hand over the suspects to the Foreign Affairs Ministry so their deportation can be arranged, Susno said. He said Zuhry, the Indonesian citizen, would be the only individual to be charged with terrorism activities in Lampung. The police believe Zuhry was closely related to fugitive Malaysian terror suspect Noordin M Top. A source at the counterterror detachment said the suspects had been monitored for months before finally being arrested. Meanwhile, police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said the police were still investigating the case and had not come to an official conclusion yet. Separately, intelligence expert Dino Chrisbon said the scenario was similar to the arrest of Mas Slamet bin Kastari, a member of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), in Riau in 2003. JI has been linked with the Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people and injured around 300 others, mostly foreigners, in 2002. Even though Zuhry was on Singapore's most-wanted list for plotting terrorist attacks in the neighboring island state, the Indonesian government only charged him with breaching immigration regulations due to a false passport in his possession. |
| Posted by:Fred |