COUNTERTERRORISM -- INDONESIA CONVICTS THREE MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000760

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, S/CT, DS
DOJ FOR CRIM AAG SWARTZ; DOJ/OPDAT FOR ALEXANDRE/BERMAN
NCTC WASH DC; NSC FOR E.PHU

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER ASEC ID
SUBJECT: COUNTERTERRORISM -- INDONESIA CONVICTS THREE MORE
JI-LINKED TERRORISTS

REF: A. JAKARTA 643

B. 08 JAKARTA 1298 AND PREVIOUS

Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4(b+d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: A Jakarta court has convicted three
terrorists, including an Afghan-trained Singaporean national
with links to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leader Mas Selamat
Kastari. The three were members of the so-called "Palembang
Group" and were arrested during a July 2008 raid on a
suspected JI safehouse in South Sumatra. The seven other
members of the group were already convicted in earlier
trials. The U.S.-supported Terrorism and Transnational Crime
Task Force at the Attorney General's Office (AGO) prosecuted
all ten members of the Palembang Group. END SUMMARY.

JUST SHORT OF MAXIMUM SENTENCE


2. (C) On April 28, the South Jakarta District Court handed
down an 18-year sentence to Mohammad Hasan bin Saynudin aka
Fajar Taslim for deliberately causing "widespread terror."
Although another member of the group was considered the
"emir" or leader, Mohammad Hasan played an important role
directing the group's activities.


3. (C) The prosecution was pleased with the verdict.
Narendra Jatna, the lead prosecutor on the case, told poloff
that the court had cut two years from the maximum 20 that
prosecutors had requested in order to show some mercy on the
perpetrator, but this was still considerably less than the
routine reduction. Mohammad Hasan had stated he was ready to
accept the decision and shouted "God is Great" after hearing
the sentence. The judges noted, however, that he had showed
no remorse for his terrorist activities. In an interview
with the Jakarta Globe, Jatna claimed he should be rewarded
for "fighting on behalf of Islam."

AFGHAN-TRAINED AND EXPERIENCED


4. (SBU) Mohammad Hasan was the most notable of the
Palembang Group. A Singaporean national of Malay origin, he
had worked as an English teacher. He received training in
Afghanistan where in 2000 he reputedly met with Osama bin
Laden. He was allegedly a courier between bin Laden and
Riduan Isamuddin aka "Hambali," who is currently in U.S.
detention. Mohammad Hasan had a close relationship with
Singaporean JI leader Mas Selamat Kastari and the late
bomb-maker Dr. Azahari from whom he allegedly learned bomb
making techniques. Hasan claimed that he and others plotted
to hijack a plane and crash it into Singapore's Changi
Airport in 2001.


5. (SBU) Under Mohammad Hasan's tutelage, the Palembang
Group attempted to kill a priest in Bandung, West Java, in
September 2006; killed a Christian teacher in Palembang in
June 2007; attempted to bomb a West Sumatran cafe frequented
by tourists in South Sumatra; and plotted to kill two priests
in Jakarta. The ten members of the so-called "Palembang
Group" were arrested during a July 2008 raid on the home of
Abdurrahman Taib, the Palembang Group's defacto leader
(reftel B). The raid also netted a cache of home-made bombs.



6. (C) Despite Mohammad Hasan's claims and contrary to press
reports, the Palembang Group was not a JI terrorist cell per
se. The nine other members of the Palembang Group convened
at the home of Abdurrahman Taib as members of the local Forum
Against Apostasy or FAKTA group. Mohammad Hasan had
befriended the men after fleeing from Singapore. Mohammad
Hasan was the only member of the group with a clear
connection to the JI terrorist network.

TWO ADDITIONAL CONVICTIONS


7. (SBU) Per the April 28 ruling, two more members of the
Palembang group were convicted on terrorism charges. Ali
Mashudi aka Zuber received a ten-year sentence and Wahyudi
aka Yudi received a 12-year sentence for their roles in the
Palembang Group's terrorist activities. The ten- and 12-year
sentences were consistent with the sentences of the other
Palembang Group members, almost all of whom received 12 years
in jail. Although the prosecutors had requested stiffer
sentences, the judges recognized that the two men had shown
remorse.

JAKARTA 00000760 002 OF 002



PALEMBANG GROUP -- ALL ACCOUNTED FOR


8. (SBU) All ten members of the Palembang Group were
successfully prosecuted by members of the U.S.-supported
Attorney General's Terrorism and Transnational Crime Task
Force. Of the men who were convicted on April 7 and April
21, none have decided to appeal the verdicts. Details on the
ten and the lengths of their sentences follow:

--Mohammad Hasan, 18 years
--Ali Mashudi, 10 years
--Wahyudi, 12 years
--Abdurrohman Taib, 12 years
--Ki Agus Mohammad Toni, 12 years
--Anis Sugandi, 5 years
--Sukarso Abdillah, 4 years
--Agustiawarman, 12 years
--Sugiharto, 12 years
--Her Purwanto, 12 years

HUME