INDONESIAN TERRORISTS:RECENT RELEASES AND UPCOMING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 012773

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR S/CT, EAP/MTS
DOJ FOR CTS THORNTON
FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH
NCTC WASHDC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2016
TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV KJUS ASEC CASC ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIAN TERRORISTS:RECENT RELEASES AND UPCOMING
REMISSIONS

REF: A. JAKARTA 10400


B. 04 JAKARTA 10611

Classified By: Political Officer Adam West for reasons 1.4(b) and (d).

Summary
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1. (C) Four years after the 2002 Bali bombing, several
individuals convicted of terrorism for their involvement in
that attack and the 2003 Marriot bombing are starting to
complete their prison terms. According to information
obtained from the Australian Embassy, nine convicted
terrorists have been or will be released during the month of
October. Prominent among this group is Gun Gun Rusman
Gunawan, who provided funding for the 2003 Marriot bombing
and is the brother of well-known terrorist Hambali. Other
convicted terrorists will be among more than 30,000 prisoners
expected to receive sentence remissions next week in
accordance with Indonesian law. End Summary.

Terrorists Released After Completing Prison Terms
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2. (U) Indonesians convicted under the 2003 Anti-terrorism
Law for their role in the 2002 Bali attacks as well as the
2003 Marriot bombings are beginning to reach the end of their
prison terms. While the central figures in those attacks
received lengthy prison terms and even the death penalty in
some cases, individuals with more peripheral roles sometimes
received sentences as short as 3-5 years. When bi-annual
sentence reductions (see below and ref A) are factored in,
some terrorists are being released after barely two years in
prison.


3. (C) Contacts at the Australian Embassy have provided a
list of nine convicted terrorists who are either already
released or are scheduled to complete their terms during the
month of October. Most prominent among those listed is Gun
Gun Rusman Gunawan aka Abdul Hadi aka Abdul Karim aka
Bukhori. Gunawan was convicted of financing the 2003 Marriot
bombing and sentenced to four years in prison (ref B). He is
also the brother of Hambali, who is being held by the U.S. as
an enemy combatant and was recently transferred to Guantanamo
Bay. In contrast to regular local press interest in Hambali,
Gunawan's release was done quietly and did not receive any
coverage in the Indonesian media.


4. (SBU) Other recently released terrorists include:

-- Rahmat Puji Prabowo - sentenced to 3 years for his role in
the 2002 Bali attacks, released on October 10.

-- Usman bin Sef - sentenced to 3 years for his role in the
Bali bombing, released on October 11.

-- Ishak Mohamed Noohu - A Singaporean terrorist suspect
sentenced to 3 years for immigration violations.


5. (SBU) Terrorists scheduled to be released next week
include:

-- Ismail aka Edi - sentenced to 3 years for his role in the
Marriot bombing, to be released on October 24.

-- Suramto - sentenced to 3 years for his role in the Marriot
bombing, to be released on October 24.

-- Sirojul Munir bin Achmad Asmui - sentenced to 5 years for
his role in the Bali bombing, to be released October 24.

-- Mujarod aka Muhamad Rusdi bin Salem - sentenced to 5 years
for his role in the Bali bombing, to be released October 24.

-- Rahmad bin Amaq Aminah - sentenced to 4 years for his role
in a bombing in Morowali, Central Sulawesi in 2003, to be
released October 30.

Sentence Remissions Forthcoming
--------------

JAKARTA 00012773 002 OF 002




6. (C) Aside from those mentioned above, numerous terrorists
will be among more than 30,000 prisoners expected to receive
routine, legally mandated sentence reductions next week in
conjunction with the Idul Fitri holiday marking the end of
Ramadan (ref A). The Minister of Law and Human Rights grants
remissions to the overwhelming majority of Indonesian inmates
each year on August 17 and again on Idul Fitri for Muslims
and Christmas for Christians, provided they have demonstrated
good behavior. In most cases, the prisoner is granted a
remission of between one and six months at these times.
Although Governmental Regulation 28 of 2006 will delay
remission eligibility to those convicted of designated
crimes, including terrorism, the change is not scheduled to
take effect until 2007.
PASCOE