CT UPDATE -- TRIALS MOVING FORWARD, ESCAPEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000118 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, INL FOR BOULDIN/BUHLER DOJ FOR AAG SWARTZ, DOJ/OPDAT FOR LEHMANN/ALEXANDRE/BERMAN DOJ/CTS FOR MULLANEY, ST HILAIRE FBI FOR ETTUI/SSA ROTH NCTC WASHDC NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/18/2018 TAGS: PGOV PTER KJUS SNAR ID SUBJECT: CT UPDATE -- TRIALS MOVING FORWARD, ESCAPEE RECAPTURED, BALI BOMBERS REF: A. JAKARTA 99 ¶B. 07 JAKARTA 3426 ¶C. 07 JAKARTA 3391 ¶D. 07 JAKARTA 2852 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (U) This message was coordinated with Consulate General Surabaya. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: In the latest counterterrorism news: prosecutors requested sentences of up to 15 years for six members of Jemaah Islamiyah's military wing; witness testimony began in the trials of two senior JI leaders; and, a convicted terrorist was recaptured just nine days after escaping from a Sulawesi prison. The one month grace period given to the three Bali bombers on death row is about to expire. Barring a last minute clemency request, the executions are likely to take place in February. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) TRIALS MOVE FORWARD: Prosecutors from the Attorney General's Task Force on Terrorism and Transnational Crime delivered sentencing requests against six members of Jemaah Islamiyah's so-called "military" wing (ref D). Prosecutors requested 15 years' imprisonment for Suparjo aka "Sarwo Edi," Maulana Yusuf Wibisono, Sikas, Amir Ahmadi and Mahfoudz Qomari. All five men were in possession of a variety of guns, ammunition and explosives when they were arrested by elite anti-terror police (SD-88) last March. Prosecutors requested 12 years for Ahmad Sharul Uman. Suparjo and Wibisono were leaders of JI cells in Central and East Java, respectively. The judges are expected to render verdicts in the cases in February. ¶4. (C) SENIOR LEADERS' CASE: Trials against acting JI Emir Zarkasih (ref B) and JI military chief Abu Dujana (ref C) moved into the witness testimony stage in January after judges rejected motions by the Muslim Defense Team to dismiss the charges. Convicted terrorists Hasanuddin--former JI leader in Palu, Central Sulawesi, currently serving 20 years--and Syaiful Anam--currently serving a 19 year sentence for a deadly Sulawesi bombing--attempted to distance Dujana from the Sulawesi attacks. ¶5. (C) Anam told the court that Dujana, whom he met when he fled from Sulawesi to Java in 2005, had not approved of the 2005 schoolgirl beheadings. Hasanuddin claimed the attacks, which had occurred under his own watch as JI Palu Chief, were part of a "grand strategy" created by former JI leader Nasir Abbas, and Abbas--not Dujana--had supplied the weapons used. (Note: Abbas renounced JI several years ago and has been cooperating openly with police.) Hasanuddin's testimony contradicts his own earlier statements to the police and the testimony of several other witnesses. Prosecutors speculated that the defense wanted to distance Dujana from the Sulawesi attacks--and the beheadings in particular--to reduce the possibility of a death sentence in the case. Decisions are not expected until at least March. ¶6. (U) TERRORIST RECAPTURED IN SULAWESI: Convicted terrorist Wirahadi (aka "Hadi") was recaptured by the INP nine days after he and another inmate escaped from a South Sulawesi prison. Hadi was convicted in 2004 for his participation in the 2002 bombing of a McDonald's restaurant in Makassar, South Sulawesi, in which three people were killed. Hadi is serving a 19 year prison sentence for his role in the bombing. The INP and local military coordinated a manhunt for Hadi and recaptured him on January 15 in a village near Makassar. Police were tipped off of Hadi's whereabouts by a local businessman who had contacted police when Hadi could not produce the required national identification card. The other prisoner--who was not convicted of terrorist offenses--is still at-large. JAKARTA 00000118 002 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) TIME RUNNING OUT: The clock continues to click for the three terrorists who carried out the 2002 Bali bombing that killed 202 people. On December 20, the AGO announced it was giving the three men one month to file for clemency or face execution. Barring an unexpected request for clemency from the families within the next few days, the executions will likely be carried out in February. There is no indication that the GOI would grant a clemency petition if one is made. HUME