TRIALS KICK OFF FOR FORMER JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 JAKARTA 002852 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, S/CT, INL FOR BOULDIN, INR/EAP DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ, DOJ/OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE/BERMAN DOJ/CTS FOR MULLANEY, ST HILAIRE FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH NCTC WASHDC NSC FOR EPHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2017 TAGS: PGOV KJUS ASEC PTER PINR ID SUBJECT: TRIALS KICK OFF FOR FORMER JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH OPERATIVES REF: A. JAKARTA 2346 ¶B. JAKARTA 1620 ¶C. JAKARTA 827 ¶D. JAKARTA 194 ¶E. JAKARTA 2263 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b)(d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Trials of seven defendants linked with the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network have begun in Jakarta. Six were operatives of an important Java-based terror cell and the other played a key role in a 2005 Sulawesi bombing. All seven face charges under the Anti-Terrorism Law. The USG-supported Attorney General's Task Force on Terrorism is overseeing the trials. Information on the defendants is contained in para 8. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY (Con'd): In other terror-related news, the GOI is expected to announce its annual prison remissions for the upcoming Idul Fitri holiday; the announcement will impact the penalties of some prisoners convicted under terror charges. END SUMMARY. TRIALS BEGIN IN JAKARTA ¶3. (C) Trials of seven alleged terrorists opened in five separate sessions in Jakarta the week of October 1. The defendants were arrested in Central and East Java in March by USG-trained Special Detachment-88 (SD-88) anti-terror police working in conjunction with local authorities (ref B). Six of the seven defendants were members of JI's so-called "military" wing, which was led by Abu Dujana, a key JI operative. Dujana himself was arrested by police in June and is currently awaiting trial (ref C). Dujana's cell was involved both in training JI members in terrorist operations and in logistics efforts. The arrests led police to several large stashes of weaponry, including dozens of guns, several thousand rounds of ammunition, and over 300 kilos of explosives. ¶4. (C) The other defendant was directly involved in a JI-linked bombing of a market that sold pork in Central Sulawesi in May 2005. The bombing killed 22 and injured 91, many of whom were maimed for life. This defendant was working with a JI cell that was focused on trying to spark inter-ethnic conflict in the mixed Central Sulawesi region. TASK FORCE ON THE CASE ¶5. (C) Similar to other recent terrorist cases, the trials were moved to Jakarta at the request of the Attorney General's Office ("AGO" - ref A). The move reduces the possibility that local allies of the accused will attempt to interfere in the proceedings and also facilitates the participation of prosecutors from the AGO Task Force on Terrorism and Transnational Crime, which is overseeing the cases. The Task Force continues to coordinate closely with SD-88 to ensure that witnesses from Central Java, Sulawesi and other areas are brought to Jakarta to testify as necessary. CHARGED UNDER ANTI-TERROR LAW ¶6. (U) The seven alleged terrorists face charges under the 2003 Anti-Terrorism Law, specifically articles 6 and 7 (carrying out a terrorist attack),9 (possession of weapons for use in terrorism),13 (aiding and abetting a known terrorist) and 15 (conspiracy to commit terrorism). Articles 6 and 9 carry a possible death sentence, while articles 7 and 15 carry a maximum of life in prison. REMISSIONS EXPECTED ¶7. (U) The GOI will soon announce the annual prison sentence remissions that coincide with the Idul Fitri holiday, which JAKARTA 00002852 002 OF 003 will be celebrated this year on October 13-14 (ref E). The sentence reductions will be applied to all Muslim prisoners in Indonesia, except for those serving life sentences or who are on death row. Christian prisoners receive similar remissions at Christmas. The penalties of some prisoners convicted under terror charges will be effected, although the three prisoners given death penalties for their role in the Bali bombings of October 2002 will not. INFORMATION ON DEFENDANTS ¶8. (SBU) Information on the seven defendants follows: -- Syaiful Anam aka "Mujadid" aka "Brekele" aka "Idris" aka "Joko" DOB: September 17, 1980 POB: Tawangmangu, Central Java Charges: article 15 in conjunction with articles 6 and 7 Activities: Anam was part of a group, along with Ardin Djanatu, Amril Ngiode (both on trial separately - ref A), Irano Irwanto (in prison),Icang (deceased) and Upik Lawanga (still at large) who built and delivered the bomb that killed 22 and injured 91 at a local pork market in Tentena, Central Sulawesi, on May 28, 2005. -- Suparjo aka "Sarwo Edi Nugroho" aka "Said" aka "Suparman" aka "Sulaim bin Ali Rejo" DOB: May 16, 1967 POB: Semarang, Central Java Charges: article 15 in conjunction with article 9, article 13 Activities: Suparjo was appointed by Abu Dujana as head of a JI military unit (Isobah II) based in Semarang, Central Java, on or before August 2006. He was the recipient of a March 20 arms transfer that was broken up by police in Sleman, Central Java. The transfer of the weaponry, which included seven firearms and several hundred ammunition rounds, had been ordered by Abu Dujana in the aftermath of the January raids in Central Sulawesi (ref D). Also arrested at the scene were suspects Sikas, Amir Ahmadi, and Mahfudz Qomari (see below). -- Mahfoudz Qomari aka "Sutarjo" aka "Ayyasi" aka "Abi Isa" DOB: December 23, 1974 POB: Sukoharjo, Central Java Charges: article 9 in conjunction with article 15, article 13 Activities: Qomari was a close associate of Abu Dujana and the head of Dujana's logistics team, which oversaw the storage and movement of weapons and explosives between various JI cells. Qomari was part of the group that was arrested in the act of delivering weapons to Suparjo. He also participated in JI training camps in various locations in Central and East Java, including Pesisir Pantai outside of Semarang, Gudang Kulit Magetan and around Solo. A search of his house after his arrest yielded some weapons and a variety of written materials that described military training, bomb making and other activities. Qomari and Sikas (below) had made previous weapons deliveries to Maulana Yusuf Wibosono and Ahmad Syahrul Uman (below). -- Maulana Yusuf Wibisono aka "Kholis" aka "Cholis" aka "Abdullah bin Goek Soewarto" Charges: article 9 in conjunction with article 15, article 13 Activities: A JI member since the mid-1990's, Wibisono was appointed by Abu Dujana as head of a military unit (Isobah III) located in East Java in 2005. Wibisono was involved in the transfer of weapons and explosives to JI-linked groups in Poso, Central Sulawesi, between August and December 2006. -- Sikas aka "Karim" aka "Abi Salma" DOB: September 10, 1970 POB: Sukoharjo, Central Java Charges: article 9 in conjunction with article 15, article 13 Activities: Sikas was a member of the logistics team led by Qomari (above) and was also arrested in the March 20 raid. Following the arrest, police raided Sikas' home and seized a large stash of explosive materials, pipe bombs, detonators, guns and ammunition. JAKARTA 00002852 003 OF 003 -- Amir Ahmadi aka "Abu Jundy" aka "Ahmad" aka "Ghozy" DOB: October 19, 1973 POB: Sukoharjo, Central Java Charges: article 9 in conjunction with article 15, article 13 Activities: Another member of Qomari's team, Ahmadi set up the March 20 weapons transfer which led to the arrest of himself, Suparjo, Sikas and Qomari. -- Ahmad Sharul Uman aka "Doni" aka "Faisal" aka "Inul bin Amir Slamet" DOB: November 21, 1982 POB: Surabaya, East Java Charges: article 9 in conjunction with article 15, article 13 Activities: A member of Wibisono's group, Uman helped Wibisono send several packages containing weapons and/or explosives to Central Sulawesi in August 2006. Uman also retrieved weaponry from Wibisono's home after the March 20 arrests. He stored the packages in his own house briefly before throwing them away as instructed. HEFFERN