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