TERROR TRIALS UPDATE: POSO TERRORISTS CONVICTED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000826 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR S/CT, EAP/MTS, INL FOR BOULDIN DOJ FOR CTS THORNTON, AAG SWARTZ, OPDAT FOR LEHMANN FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH NCTC WASHDC E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/22/2017 TAGS: PTER PGOV KJUS ASEC CASC ID SUBJECT: TERROR TRIALS UPDATE: POSO TERRORISTS CONVICTED REF: A. 06 JAKARTA 13454 ¶B. 06 JAKARTA 9443 ¶C. JAKARTA 152 Classified By: Political Officer Adam West for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) Three Indonesians involved in the October 2005 beheading attacks in Poso, Central Sulawesi, were convicted of terrorism in Jakarta on March 21. They were sentenced to 20, 14 and 14 years respectively. The sentences imposed, while less than the maximum, appear to be the result of the defendants' willingness to acknowledge their crimes and to have formally sought and received forgiveness from the victims' families. The cases represent the first successful terrorism prosecutions carried out by the Attorney General's Task Force on Terrorism and Transnational Crime, a group formed in 2006 with USG support. The Task Force will handle the trials of 17 other alleged terrorists from Poso, which are expected to start in April. End Summary ¶2. (SBU) The trials of Hasanuddin aka Hasan aka Slamet Rahardjo, Lilik Purwanto aka Haris aka Arman, and Irwanto Irano aka Iwanaka Priantono concluded with guilty verdicts in Jakarta on March 21. The three men were convicted under the Antiterrorism Law for their role in the beheading of three Christian high school students in Poso, Central Sulawesi in October 2005. The three terrorists are members of the Anak Tanah Runtuh, a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) affiliated militant group based in Poso. Hasanuddin was convicted under article 14 of the Antiterrorism Law for inciting the attack and sentenced to 20 years. Purwanto and Irano were convicted under article 13 of the Act for engaging in conspiracy to commit terrorism and sentenced to 14 years each. First Convictions for New AGO Task Force -------------- ¶3. (C) The cases represent the first successful terrorism prosecutions carried out by the Attorney General's Task Force on Terrorism and Transnational Crime. Formed in June 2006 and funded by a $750,000 ESF grant, the Task Force was created to oversee the prosecution of cases that involve terrorism, money laundering, trafficking in persons and cybercrime (ref B). Lead prosecutor for the three cases was Payaman Hutupea, Head of the Task Force's investigation unit. According to our court monitor (protect: our monitor's relationship with the embassy is not publicly acknowledged), Hutupea prepared a thorough indictment and brought in 29 witnesses plus two expert witnesses, many of them flown in from Poso. (Note: In the past, prosecutors have complained about not having funds to bring witnesses from other provinces to trial.) ¶4. (C) During the trial, defense attorneys from the Muslim Defense Team (TPM) did not attempt to deny that the suspects were involved in planning the attack, which the three defendants had freely admitted. The defense argued instead that the attack did not constitute terrorism, but rather avenged attacks by Christian militants against Muslims from 1999-2001. The defense brought in multiple witnesses during the trial to testify about the earlier attacks. They asserted that the beheadings, unlike the 1999-2001 attacks, did not trigger major population movements and therefore did not create the "atmosphere of terror" described in the Anti-terror Law. Sentences Less Than the Maximum -------------- ¶5. (C) The sentences imposed, while less than the maximum, are not inconsistent with Indonesian practice. The prosecution team requested sentences of 20 years for each suspect rather than the maximum penalties, i.e. death for Hasanuddin and life imprisonment for the other two. Under Indonesian criminal law, 20 years is the longest sentence that can be imposed short of a life sentence. According to the sentencing requests submitted by Hutupea, several JAKARTA 00000826 002 OF 002 mitigating factors were taken into account, the most salient being that the perpetrators had solicited and received forgiveness from the victims' families. When asked privately who made the decision regarding the sentence to be requested, Hutupea told us that it was made either by the Attorney General himself or his close staff. ¶6. (C) In sentencing Purwanto and Irano, the judges followed the standard Indonesian practice of giving one third less than the sentence requested. Hasanuddin, however, received the full 20 years. Hasanuddin reportedly became belligerent in the courtroom upon hearing the sentencing request, and this, according to one source, may have caused the judges to doubt the sincerity of his previous apology. New Cases Being Prepared -------------- ¶7. (U) The Task Force is also preparing cases against a group of 17 militants arrested in Poso in a series of raids in January (ref C). The group includes several men suspected of involvement in the school girl beheadings, the 2005 Tentena bombing, and various attacks on Christian churches and preachers. The first of these trials are expected to open in April in Jakarta. HEFFERN