GOI REQUESTS LIFE SENTENCES FOR TERRORIST LEADERS;

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000645 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, S/CT, INL FOR BOULDIN/BUHLER 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 E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2018 TAGS: PGOV KJUS PTER ID SUBJECT: GOI REQUESTS LIFE SENTENCES FOR TERRORIST LEADERS; CONVICTIONS LIKELY REF: A. JAKARTA 228 ¶B. JAKARTA 118 ¶C. 07 JAKARTA 3426 ¶D. 07 JAKARTA 3391 ¶E. 07 JAKARTA 2852 Classified By: Pol/C Joseph Legend Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Prosecutors have requested life sentences for Abu Dujana and Zarkasih, two senior Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders. Prosecutors also requested sentences of between 12 and 14 years for five other JI operatives. In the sentencing request, prosecutors also asked the judges to declare JI a terrorist organization, which potentially could pave for the way for an executive order banning the group down the line. Verdicts in the trials are expected in late April; convictions are likely. END SUMMARY. GOING FOR LIFE ¶2. (SBU) Indonesia continues to press the case against terrorism. Prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office Terrorism and Transnational Crime Task Force on March 27 delivered closing arguments--which included sentencing requests--in the trials of seven members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist organization (JI). The toughest sentences in this trial round--life in prison--were reserved for JI "military-wing" chief Ainul Bahri aka "Abu Dujana" and acting JI Emir (leader) Zuhroni aka "Zarkasih." Sentences of 14 years were requested for three other JI operatives: Taufik Masduki, Aris Widodo and Arif Syarifuddin. Prosecutors requested 12 years for Nur Afifudin and Aziz Mustafa. The trials are being held in South Jakarta District Court. ¶3. (C) The delivery of the sentencing requests was delayed twice by prosecutors. According to Task Force member Narendra Jatna, prosecutors were waiting for approval from the Attorney General, who traditionally reviews sentencing requests in high-profile cases personally. Once the AG gave the greenlight, prosecutors moved forward with the sentencing requests. ¶4. (SBU) The seven suspects were arrested in a series of raids in Central and East Java in June 2007, and all have been accused of violating Indonesia's 2002 anti-terror law (ref C). Syaifuddin and Widodo are accused of assisting Abu Dujana in moving money and materials between his base in Java and JI camps in Mindanao, southern Philippines. Masduki is accused of leading a logistics team which procured transport, safe houses and meetings places for JI leaders, including Zarkasih and Dujana. Afifudin and Mustafa were also members of the team. NAMING JI ¶5. (C) Prosecutors also pitched for the listing of JI as a terrorist organization. Specifically, Task Force lawyers asked the judges to issue a statement declaring JI a terrorist "corporation," as described in article 17 of the anti-terror law. To support the charge, prosecutors had earlier brought in former JI leader Nasir Abbas to testify about the nature and structure of JI (ref A). If the bench agrees with the prosecution argument, such a ruling could potentially become the basis for an executive order banning the organization. DENYING THEY ARE JI ¶6. (SBU) Dujana and Zarkasih have been defended by attorneys from the Muslim Defense Team (TPM). While neither suspect has denied the specific activities they are accused of--including military training, stockpiling and movement of weapons, and meeting with known terrorists such as Noordin M. JAKARTA 00000645 002 OF 002 Top--both deny that they are members of any grouping called JI. Defense lawyers have also argued that the training and movement of weapons was not to support terrorism, but rather so that the Muslim community could defend itself from attacks like those that occurred in Central Sulawesi from 1999-2002 (ref A). CONVICTIONS LIKELY, BAN LESS SO ¶7. (C) The GOI has handled these cases professionally from the start and the requests for life sentences demonstrate AG Supandji's personal commitment to the CT effort. The judges in South Jakarta have already presided credibly over a number of terrorist cases and will not likely be swayed by the often specious arguments of the defense. Verdicts are expected in late April. Based on our soundings, convictions seem likely. ¶8. (C) GOI CT Coordinating Desk Chief Police Gen. (ret.) Ansyaad Mbai has long advocated for the government to ban JI, explaining that it would allow GOI law enforcement to detain and try JI members without having to prove links to specific attacks. As recently as a few years ago, however, many Indonesians were reluctant to admit that JI even existed as an organization. That began to change only after the GOI took a more aggressive public stance after the second Bali bombings in 2005. Still, any move to ban JI will take time--while everyone in the GOI is on board with the fight against terrorism, not everyone thinks that a ban is the best tactic to use in that effort. HUME