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May 1, 2006
Indonesia: Three Jemaah Islamiyah Muslims Jailed For Terrorism
Today, according to Associated Press via Santa Barbara News Press and ABC25, three Muslim terrorists have been convicted of sheltering Noordin Mohammed Top.
The South Jakarta District Court handed out sentences of up to seven years to the men. Abdulah Sunata received seven years, and Joni Ahmad Fauzani got four years. Both had admitted meeting Noordin Top, the Malaysian-born "banker" and recruiter for Jemaah Islamiyah.
The third man, Joko Sumanto, was convicted of gun-running and financing terrorism, and was jailed for four years.
The three were arrested last year. Joni Ahmed Fauzani was arrested in Pacet, East Java on Wednesday, 6 July. They are said to have hidden Noordin Mohammed Top after the suicide attack on the Australian Embassy in Jakarta on Sept 9, 2004, which killed 11 and injured more than 200.
We reported on Friday, (April 27) that Ahmad Ridho was sentenced to seven years' jail for sheltering Noordin Top. Another man, Joko Tri Priyanto is also on trial for sheltering the recruiter and financier for Jemaah Islamiyah.
Meanwhile, at the weekend, anti-terror police in Indonesia narrowly avoided capturing Noordin Top, according to Turkish Press and yesterday's Jakarta Post.
After three months of surveillance of a house in in the village of Binangu near Wonosobo, Central Java, anti-terror police raided on Saturday, using explosives to blow out the window to to gain entry. The event was screened on the local ANTV news (pictured). During the raid, two accomplices of Noordin Top, Abdul Hadi, and another named Jabir (aka Mujabir), were killed. These were said to be bomb-makers. Abdul, also called Bambang and Baharudin Saleh, was also a recruiter for Jemaah Islamiyah. Jabir had helped to make the bombs used in the attack upon the J. W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people on 5 August 2003.
Another accomplice was subsequently captured in the nearby town of Temanggung. The arrested individuals from the Wonosobo hideout are Solahudin (aka Sukri aka Dani), who is accused of bombings, including an attack upon a church in 200, and also Muhtafirin, a courier to Azahari bin Husin. Azahari was Jemaah Islamiyah's main bomb-maker, who was killed by a police bullet on November 9 last year, near Malang in Java.
Apparently the five occupants of the house had posed as traders in textile and corn. Today's Jakarta Post states that police are convinced Noordin Top is still in the region of Central Java, and roadblocks have been mounted, with vehicles checked. Seaports are also loci of the operation, should Top attempt to flee via boat.
The remains of Jabir, who was a relative of Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi, who was killed in the Philippines on October 12 2003, will be returned to his hometown of Madiun in East Java.
According to Associated Press, following the raid on Top's Wonosobo hideout, a backpack filled with explosives was discovered yesterday. The authorities claim this was found following a tip from those arrested on Saturday. The explosives are of a similar type to those used by the three suicide bombers who struck on the island of Bali on October 1 last year, killing 26 people, mostly tourists. The discovery of the rucksack implies that despite reports that Jemaah Islamiyah may be fragmenting, it is still prepared to continue attacks.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at May 1, 2006 9:41 AM
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