July 20, 2011
The head of the country’s antiterrorism agency said on Tuesday that high-profile terror suspect Umar Patek would be sent from Pakistan to Indonesia for prosecution despite concerns that he could become a rallying point for violent jihadists here.
“The process is still ongoing between government and government,” said Ansyaad Mbai, head of the National Anti-Terrorism Agency (BNPT). “He is an Indonesian citizen but there are procedures we have to follow [before returning him home].”
Patek will be charged for involvement in the 2000 Christmas Eve bombings and the 2002 Bali bombings. Ansyaad, a former police officer, said he would be charged under the Criminal Code for premeditated attacks and the Emergency Law for carrying explosives and weapons.
Both bombings occurred before Indonesia enacted the Anti-Terrorism Law, but Patek could still face the death penalty under the Criminal Code and the Emergency Law.
Ansyaad said Patek would be sent from Pakistan to Indonesia but there was still no timetable. “It is the jurisdiction of the Foreign Ministry,” he said. “They will provide details when [Patek] will be deported home.
Terrorism expert Noor Huda Ismail said although law enforcers would face an uphill battle to convict Patek, the suspect could provide valuable insight into regional terror networks.
Ismail said getting Patek home would be “critical to our intelligence community,” since the suspect is a senior member of regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah and could provide law enforces a greater understanding of how the network operates and its connection to Al Qaeda.
Patek, one of the most wanted Islamic extremists in Southeast Asia, was arrested in March in Abbottabad, Pakistan — the same town where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed just weeks later.
Ismail said Patek could also identify key figures inside the terrorism networks in Indonesia and future terror plots.
A senior anti terrorism official previously told the Jakarta Globe, on condition of anonymity, that Patek was in Jakarta during 2009 and 2010 and claims to have had a role in setting up the Aceh paramilitary training camp dismantled by the police early last year.
“If Patek talks to the police it would surely delegitimize the jihad movement in Indonesia,” Ismail said. “Conversely, if Patek is tried elsewhere it would delegitimize Indonesia’s counterterrorism efforts as being no more than a pawn for international interests.”
Pakistani authorities had offered to send Patek to Australia for trial since 88 of the 202 people killed in the 2002 Bali bombings were Australians.
Filipino security officials also say that their Pakistani counterparts have asked them to take custody of Patek, who spent two years in hiding in the southern Philippines.
(x the JG)
do 21 jul 2011 - 4:24