PROSECUTORS UNFAZED BY AMROZI'S TESTIMONY FOR

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 005040 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/MTS AND S/CT DOJ FOR CTS THORNTON, AAG SWARTZ FBI FOR ETTIU/SSA ROTH E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/20/2026 TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV KJUS KISL KVPR ASEC AS ID SUBJECT: PROSECUTORS UNFAZED BY AMROZI'S TESTIMONY FOR BA'ASYIR REF: A. JAKARTA 02848 AMROZI TESTIMONY ¶B. 05 JAKARTA 16574 PARIS CT SEMINAR ¶C. 05 JAKARTA 16515 LAWYERS FOR BA'ASYIR CLAIM "NEW EVIDENCE" ¶D. 05 JAKARTA 16215 BA'ASYIR SEEKS RELEASE ¶E. 05 JAKARTA 10681 BA'ASYIR LOSES SUPREME COURT APPEAL ¶F. 05 JAKARTA 06895 BA'ASYIR LOSES APPEAL TO HIGH COURT ¶G. 05 JAKARTA 04077 WHAT JUDGES REALLY SAID ABOUT BA'ASYIR Classified By: Political Officer Tim Hefner For Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (S) Convicted Bali bomber Amrozi appeared in the Cilacap District Court on April 19 to testify on behalf of Jemaah Islamiyah Emir Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in the months-old Judicial Review request process. With hundreds of Ba'asyir supporters in tow, Amrozi repeated his previously submitted testimony but added an allegation of torture by the Indonesian National Police to his denial of Ba'asyir's involvement in terrorist activities. Former lead prosecutor against Ba'asyir, Salman Maryadi, told us he does not believe Ba'asyir will see freedom before his scheduled prison release date in June. Maryadi hand-picked knowledgeable prosecutors to travel to Cilacap and maintains regular involvement in the Judicial Review request process. Prosecutors and defense attorneys must submit final arguments to the South Jakarta District Court before the court drafts its recommendation to the Supreme Court on the Judicial Review. It remains very unlikely the Supreme Court will reach a decision prior to Ba'asyir's scheduled release, but the outcome remains important nonetheless -- a future repudiation of Ba'asyir's conviction would strike a serious blow to Indonesia's CT efforts. End Summary. New Twist to Old Defense -------------- ¶2. (C) The months-old Judicial Review request process for convicted Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) Emir Abu Bakar Ba'asyir resumed on April 19 in Cilacap District Court in Central Java with the appearance of Amrozi, one of the terrorists responsible for the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 202 people. Local press reported hundreds of Ba'asyir supporters attended the court session, many of them alumni of Ba'asyir's Pondok Ngruki pesantren in Solo, Central Java and members of Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI),JI's political wing. Prosecutors who attended the session noted nearly 400 security personnel maintained order at the district courthouse. ¶3. (C) As previewed in the initial Judicial Review request documents, attorneys for Ba'asyir offered Amrozi's testimony as "new evidence" for the defense (ref C). Muslim Defense Team (TPM) attorneys previously included this "new evidence" in their arguments to the Appeals and Supreme Courts in the form of a letter dated March 24, 2005 (ref D). In the letter, Amrozi denied speaking with Ba'asyir about a bomb and denied telling Mubarok about a conversation with Ba'asyir about doing work in the field (ref G). Despite this denial, both the Appeals and Supreme Courts upheld Ba'asyir's conviction and initial 30-month sentence. ¶4. (S) Throughout the Judicial Review process, TPM has pushed to have Amrozi testify in open court. According to our court monitor (strictly protect, as TPM attorneys do not know this contractor's embassy affiliation),senior Muslim Defense Team (TPM) attorney Achmad Michdan traveled to Cilacap in February. The Cilacap District Court had arranged to hear Amrozi testify on February 22, but Amrozi refused to appear. Amrozi instead gave a statement to Michdan who later read this into evidence at the South Jakarta District Court. Michdan told our court monitor that he and three other TPM attorneys returned to Cilacap prior to Amrozi's April 19 appearance "to reexamine" Amrozi's testimony. During his court appearance, Amrozi added a detail to his previous statement and claimed the Indonesian National Police (INP) JAKARTA 00005040 002 OF 003 tortured Mubarok (legal name Utomo Pamungkas) into implicating Ba'asyir in terrorist activities. Amrozi claimed the INP also tortured him and others into making statements against Ba'asyir. Mubarok has not alleged torture at the hands of the INP, and TPM has not mentioned their intent to call Mubarok to the stand to verify this claim. Prosecutors Unfazed by Lawyer Tricks, Ba'asyir Supporters -------------- -------------- 5.(C) Central Jakarta District Prosecutor Salman Maryadi, the former lead prosecutor in both trials against Ba'asyir, and three prosecutors who attended the Cilacap session concurred that TPM has no new evidence. Maryadi warned the three prosecutors to be aware of TPM's tricks and public relations stunts. He said TPM, as with Amrozi's newest statement, tries to pull attention away from the law by introducing extraneous information to make their case. Prosecutors said that Ba'asyir's supporters made the session "lively" and called on prosecutors to withdraw from the case. Ba'asyir's people also denounced the prosecutors as "kafir," or infidels, for persecuting their Emir. ¶6. (S) Maryadi remains heavily involved in the Judicial Review despite holding positions in both Jakarta and Bali, and he maintains lengthy daily communications with prosecutors. Maryadi told us the review cannot fall to someone in the Attorney General's Office based on their position but must remain with prosecutors whom he can trust and who have experience with Ba'asyir's case. He also said he hand-picked prosecutors from Jakarta to travel to Cilacap to oversee the Amrozi session. The AGO sent Kuntadi (2005 International Visitors Program participant),Narendra Jatna (2005 Paris Program participant, ref B),and Nanang Sigit (2006 IV Program participant). (Note: Maryadi has never traveled to the US but has mentioned his desire to do so on several occasions. End Note.) Next Procedural Steps in Judicial Review Request -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) South Jakarta District Court, the court of first instance for the Ba'asyir trial, seconded the responsibility for hearing defense evidence to Cilacap, the district court closest to Nusakembangan prison where Amrozi awaits his execution. Cilacap District Court must now forward written documentation of Amrozi's testimony to South Jakarta where the review process will continue. Before concluding the Judicial Review request, the South Jakarta District Court will receive final arguments from the prosecution and the defense. It will then draft a written opinion for the Supreme Court on the Judicial Review and submit this opinion along with all other documents related to the request. The Supreme Court will then deliberate on the Judicial Review request. ¶8. (C) Maryadi personally will submit the prosecution's closing argument against the Judicial Review request. He plans to draft this document next week. Although the South Jakarta District Court determines when to submit the request to the Supreme Court, Maryadi expects South Jakarta court to complete its work in two to three weeks. Indonesian law governing the Judicial Review process does not stipulate how long the Supreme Court may take to make its decision, and the review process does not need to be completed prior to Ba'asyir's scheduled release from prison. ¶9. (S) Maryadi told us he is not worried about the Judicial Review because he does not believe the process will result in Ba'asyir's early release from prison. He confirmed that Ba'asyir's scheduled release date falls in June, and at this time, he has no knowledge of any legal actions planned by the AGO against the twice-convicted cleric. He added that the INP has responsibility for monitoring or otherwise acting against Ba'asyir after his release, but Maryadi has not heard of any INP plans to do so at this time. Maryadi cautioned that any steps against Ba'asyir would need to be bulletproof before the GOI would move against him a third time. Comment -------------- JAKARTA 00005040 003 OF 003 ¶10. (C) Maryadi's personal involvement in the case remains the GOI's best tactical asset for keeping Ba'asyir in prison, and Maryadi remains the most knowledgeable person regarding Ba'asyir and his activities. TPM seems to have played a role in altering Amrozi's testimony. Regardless, Amrozi's statements likely will not change any minds regarding Ba'asyir's guilt or innocence. Several steps remain before the Supreme Court could rule on the Judicial Review, and with less then two month before Ba'asyir's scheduled release date, it appears unlikely the Review process will conclude before he walks out of prison. Nevertheless, a complete acquittal and repudiation of Ba'asyir's conviction, even after his release, would strike a serious blow to GOI CT efforts. PASCOE