December 24, 2024
JAKARTA – Densus 88, the National Police’s counterterrorism unit, has announced a plan to repatriate 26 former members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) to Indonesia following the disbandment of the terror group, which was responsible for the deadly Bali bombings in 2002.
Densus 88 chief Insp. Gen. Sentot Prasetyo said the ex-JI members selected for the repatriation plan were Indonesians who served as “foreign fighters, 16 of whom are currently in Syria and 10 in the Philippines”.
He did not provide additional details about the program.
Sentot announced the plan on Saturday in Surakarta, Central Java, where 1,200 people from the city and nearby regions took part in a ceremony, facilitated by Densus 88 and the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), to declare that they were no longer part of the extremist group linked to Al-Qaeda and were committed to its dissolution.
The Surakarta ceremony was the last in a series of events attended by thousands of ex-JI members across 21 regions since late June, when more than a dozen leaders announced the organization’s disbandment. They also declared they were leaving their extremist views behind and confirmed their commitment to the Indonesian state and national laws.
“The commitment of former JI members is evident in their willingness to abide by the law and facilitate our contact with 11 JI fugitives we have been pursuing for years,” Sentot added.
Although he did not identify the fugitives, he said they had handed over any weapons they possessed to Densus 88.
BNPT head Comr. Gen. Eddy Hartono applauded the counterterrorism squad’s deradicalization program that led to JI’s self-disbandment.
He added that the counterterror agency, along with Densus 88 and related institutions, would provide support and guidance to ex-JI members so they could fully disengage from extremist views and reintegrate into society.
“We will also assist with the paroles of Abu Rusydan and Para Wijayanto,” Eddy said, referring to two former JI leaders serving sentences at different prisons, who were among those that announced the group’s dissolution six months ago.
Abu, also known as Thoriquddin, has been convicted twice on terrorism charges. He was on the JI advisory council when he was arrested in 2021 for supporting the terror group. He was subsequently convicted in 2022 and sentenced to six years at Cikeas Penitentiary in Bogor, West Java.
Two decades earlier in 2004, he was arrested and then sentenced to 3.5 years for harboring Ali Ghufron, one of the masterminds behind the 2000 Christmas Eve bombings and the 2002 Bali bombings who was executed by firing squad in 2008.
Para is a former JI leader who was sentenced to seven years in 2020 and is currently serving his term at a Jakarta prison.
Imtihan Syafi’i, one of the ex-JI leaders who attended the Surakarta ceremony, said around 90 JI-affiliated pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) nationwide had started revising their curriculum in line with the national curriculum and removing textbooks that encouraged extreme ideologies.
“We’ve evaluated our teachings, especially behaviors and thoughts that lead to extremism. However, it won’t happen overnight,” Imtihan said.
Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas, Social Affairs Minister Saifullah Yusuf and National Police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo also attended the JI disbandment ceremony in Surakarta.
Listyo said in a statement afterward that authorities “welcome the return of former JI members into the fold of the Indonesian state”.
JI was behind some of the country’s deadliest terrorist attacks in the early 2000s. These included the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly Australians, the 2003 suicide bombing at the JW Marriott Jakarta that killed 12 people and injured 150, and the 2004 car bombing outside the Australian Embassy that killed nine Indonesians and injured over 180.
The police have arrested scores of JI members over the past two decades, including its spiritual leader Abu Bakar Ba’asyir, who was released in 2021 after serving 10 years of his 15-year sentence for terrorism, which was later reduced.
— Suherdjoko contributed to the story.