COUNTERTERRORISM -- TRIAL OF KEY MILITANT KICKS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 003391 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, INL FOR BOULDIN 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: 12/13/2017 TAGS: PGOV KJUS PTER ID SUBJECT: COUNTERTERRORISM -- TRIAL OF KEY MILITANT KICKS OFF REF: A. JAKARTA 3375 ¶B. JAKARTA 3182 ¶C. JAKARTA 2852 ¶D. JAKARTA 1620 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: The trial of senior Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant Abu Dujana opened in Jakarta on December 12. Dujana was indicted on four separate counts under the Anti-Terror Law. Top prosecutors from a key task force are handling the case. Several other militants are expected to appear in court within the next week. The Abu Dujana trial is another example of the GOI's continued all-out assault against JI and its militant network. END SUMMARY. KEY LEADER ON TRIAL ¶2. (SBU) A pensive looking Ainul Bahri--popularly known as "Abu Dujana"--was formally indicted on terrorism charges in a South Jakarta court on December 12. Described as the head of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah's (JI) so-called "military" wing, Dujana was captured by Indonesian anti-terror police (Special Detachment-88) during a series of raids in Central Java in June (ref D). ¶3. (C) An Afghanistan "jihad" veteran, Dujana organized training programs for JI members and oversaw the acquisition and storage of arms and explosives, much of which was seized by police earlier this year. Some of the arms under Dujana's control were shipped to Central Sulawesi, where they were apparently used in a spate of terror attacks (ref A). Dujana also had direct ties to Noordin M. Top, mastermind of several major attacks and currently Indonesia's most wanted fugitive. THE BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST ¶4. (C) The head of Indonesia's Counterterrorism Desk, Gen. (ret.) Ansyaad Mbai, identified the Dujana case as a priority early on. Mbai lobbied the Attorney General's Office to appoint the best prosecutors to the case. The prosecution team--led by AGO Terrorism and Transnational Crime Task Force members Narendra Jatna and Totok Bambang--is considered topnotch. (Note: Both prosecutors recently participated in a USG-funded study visit to the U.S. -- ref B.) Veteran prosecutor Salman Maryadi--who led the prosecutions of the 
2005 Bali bombers and JI co-founder Abu Bakar Ba'asyir--advised the team informally as it prepared to take the case to court. MAKING THE CASE ¶5. (U) Prosecutors indicted Dujana under four separate sections of Indonesia's Anti-Terror Law. The charges--with relevant articles in parentheses--include: - Possession of weapons as part of a conspiracy to commit terrorism (art. 15/9); - Aiding and abetting known terrorists (art. 13a and b); and, - Holding a leadership position in a terrorist organization (art. 17). ¶6. (C) The charge under article 17 represents a new prosecution strategy that has not been employed before. While Dujana and his co-conspirators are facing trial separately, the use of article 17 is an attempt by prosecutors to introduce the broader network into the courtroom. The maximum penalty for the charges is death. Given the lack of evidence tying Dujana to any specific attacks, however, prosecutors will likely seek a lesser sentence. JAKARTA 00003391 002 OF 002 ¶7. (C) The case against Dujana will rely heavily on the testimony of other JI members now in custody. Several suspects currently on trial in Jakarta (ref C) have already testified in their own trials that it was Dujana who ordered the transfer of weapons that led to their arrests in March. Other witnesses will likely be brought in from Central Java. The defense consists of Muslim Defense Team lawyers Ashludin Hatjani, Tajwin Ibrahim and Aminudin. Ashludin defended several other suspects who were recently convicted under the Anti-Terror Law (ref A). Two of the three judges in the case--Aswan Nurcahyo and Gatot Suharnoto-- also presided in some of those cases and handed down some of the stiffest penalties. THEIR DAY IN THE SUN ¶8. (SBU) Other militants are slated to appear in court soon. Several JI figures also netted in the June raids, including reputed JI Emir Zarkasih aka "Zuhroni" aka "Abu Irsyad," are expected to come to trial within the next week. The trials are likely to run about four months. NOT LEAVING ANYTHING ON THE FIELD ¶9. (C) As with the recent convictions of 10 militants for Sulawesi-related violence (ref A),the indictment of Abu Dujana is another example of the government's continued all-out assault on JI and its network. There is no sign of a let up in this effort. As noted, there are still key militants who remain outstanding like Noordin M. Top, but the GOI remains on the hunt. In the meantime, the GOI's legal team is increasingly hitting its stride, thanks in part to USG support and training. HUME