300 Terrorism Inmates to Free in 2013 - 2014

Serang, Banten (Antara Bali) - Head of the National Counter-terrorism Agency (BNPT) Ansyaad Mbai said some 300 terrorism inmates would walk free in 2013 and 2014.

"Some 300 terrorism inmates will complete their prison terms in 2013 and 2014. We do not want them to commit crimes again after they walk free. Of course they need guidance from us all so that they would not return to their terror acts," Ansyaad said here on Thursday.

He said that hundreds of terrorism inmates had so far been freed after serving their sentence terms but tens of them repeated their terror acts.

The BNPT chief said all parties in society should give support to the efforts to prevent them from committing terror acts again. "In this case a counter-terrorism coordination forum needed to be formed."
    
He said that his side did not want to make approaches like those in the past, namely by violence because it could violate human rights. "We should act justly through a legal avenue," he said.

He said that up to 2013, his side had arrested 840 terrorists, of whom about 700 had passed through legal processes and had received punishment from the courts.

In the meantime the Anti-Terrorism Joint Force has transferred five terrorist convicts  from Kelapa Dua Prison in Jakarta to a prison in Magelang, Central Java on Thursday. The five terrorism prisoners are Nobita, Gondrong Aka Joni, Tiyok, Abu Shifa, and Anton Aka Buker. They arrived at the Magelang Prison around 8 am by bus.

A member of the Anti-Terrorism Joint Force, Fathuri, said the court had handed down the verdicts on four so that they ought to be imprisoned in Magelang.

"Their verdicts vary from 3.5 years to 7.5 years imprisonment. The longest is given to Abu Shifa with 7.5 years in jail," he said. (*/DWA)