The authorities have deported an alleged Islamic militant to Indonesia after releasing him from prison, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said today.

Mohd Iqbal Abdul Rahman, an Indonesian with permanent residency in Malaysia, was released on Friday after his two-year detention order under the Internal Security Act (ISA) expired.

He was handed over to immigration officials immediately.

Abdullah, who is also home minister, confirmed that Mohd Iqbal had been sent to Indonesia but did not say when or how the deportation was carried out.

"He has been sent back to Indonesia," Abdullah said. "They did not have to ask for him to be extradited."

Religious preacher

Mohd Iqbal, 46, was arrested in June 2001, under the ISA which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

The father of nine is suspected of being a senior member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group.

On Saturday, his wife Fatimah Zahrah Abdul said her husband was a religious preacher before he was arrested in August 2001.

"He is innocent. He has no links to the JI extremist group," she told AFP .