Kankan, the younger brother of Hambali, showing a recent picture of the terror suspect from the Guantanamo Jail. (JG Photo/Farouk Arnaz)

Indonesia Won't 'Second Guess' If US Prosecutes Hambali: Foreign Minister

Indonesia won’t “second guess” the US if it prosecutes Indonesian-born terrorism suspect Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, in a US civilian court, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said.

“We wish him to be brought to justice,” Natalegawa said in an interview in Jakarta. “I didn’t give any geographical context where he may be held accountable to as long as this gentleman has his day in court and is then put away in a manner suitable to his deed.”

The US is trying to determine what to do with foreign terrorism suspects such as Hambali who are being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The possibilities include holding civilian trials. Tanzanian Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani will be the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in a US federal court later this year over the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. His lawyers have asked to have his indictment dismissed because he was held without trial.

“Indonesia has been very keen to ensure that when we deal with the terrorism situation, it is a democratic response,” Natalegawa said. “At the same time, I don’t want to second- guess the US approach.”

While the Indonesian government has heard “indirectly through open sources” of a plan to try Hambali in a US civilian court, there has been no formal notification from the US administration, Natalegawa said. The government of President Barack Obama is reviewing a plan that could lead Hambali to be tried in Washington and Republican lawmakers have criticized the plan, Associated Press reported Jan. 16.

Bali Bombings

Indonesia has sought for four years to prosecute Hambali for his alleged role masterminding with other militants the 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people. The US has held him in custody since a joint US-Thailand operation captured him in 2003 in Ayutthaya, 75 kilometers north of Bangkok. The US confirmed the detention in 2006.

“All of us must cooperate very closely” when Hambali appears in a trial in “the United States or elsewhere” so there is enough evidence to make him accountable, Natalegawa said.

Terrorists have killed almost 300 people since 2002 in bombing attacks against Western-linked targets in Indonesia. The country has executed three Islamic militants and jailed hundreds of their accomplices in response.

Due Process

“We don’t want to put away people without due process of law,” Natalegawa said. “When we were dealing with these unpleasant characters, there was a lot of criticism leveled on Indonesia for being overly sensitive to the niceties of the legal process. In the end, these people were put away in a sustainable way,” he said, adding Indonesia is “very familiar” with the reactions against plans to bring terrorist suspects to civilian courts that the Obama government is facing.

The latest attack in Indonesia occurred July 17 when two suicide bombers killed seven people at Jakarta’s JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels. Indonesian police gunned down alleged mastermind Noordin Top in a September raid following an intensive manhunt.

“Last year’s incidents provided a very sad reminder that the threat is very much with us,” the minister said, adding the terrorist network behind the recent attacks has been “disrupted.”

The new reports on Hambali coincide with Obama’s plans to visit Indonesia, where he spent part of his childhood, next month along with his wife and two daughters.

“However much we wish to get him, to have him held accountable in the court of law, we will not allow one issue to cloud our relations,” Natalegawa said. He was Indonesia’s foreign affairs spokesman at the time of the 2002 Bali bombings.

Bloomberg

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