Summary

  • Indonesia is considering parole for ex-JI members Para Wijayanto and Abu Rusdan.

  • The duo pledged allegiance to the Indonesian govt last week.

  • Pledging allegiance and serving two-thirds of their sentence are some of the parole conditions for terrorist convicts.

Indonesian counter-terrorism authorities are considering parole for at least two senior former Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) leaders identified as successors of senior cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, who was released in 2021.

The duo - Para Wijayanto and Abu Rusdan - were among 1,000 former JI members who pledged allegiance to the Indonesian government last week, six months after the Al-Qaeda-linked network disbanded, AFP reported.

Indonesia’s counter-terrorism chief Eddy Hartono revealed that Para and Abu had virtually attended the pledge of allegiance event from prison.

“If they meet the requirement, I will file for (their) parole. I will coordinate with the Immigration and Correction Ministry,” Eddy was quoted as saying by AFP.

Para is serving a seven-year sentence due to end in 2027, while Abu has been in prison since 2022 for a six-year prison stint.

In total, 115 former JI members are in prison, Eddy said.

Pledging allegiance was one of the parole conditions for terrorist convicts, on top of other conditions such as serving two-thirds of their sentence, he explained.

The JI network was responsible for some of the deadliest terror attacks in Indonesia, one of them was the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people - including 88 Australians.

Earlier this year, a pre-dawn attack on the Ulu Tiram police station in Johor by a 22-year-old suspect had raised fresh questions over the existence of the banned terrorist group in Malaysia.

READ MORE: KINIGUIDE | Ulu Tiram terror attack - Jemaah Islamiyah in Malaysia

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain initially linked the attack to the JI network, but later clarified that it was the suspect’s 62-year-old father who had been a former member.

Amnesty drive

At the time, Indonesia’s Centre for Radicalism and Deradicalisation Studies executive director Adhe Bhakti told Malaysiakini the JI movement in Indonesia had been significantly weakened in the last decade with arrests of its leaders and members.

Meanwhile, AFP also quoted Indonesia’s senior law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra who said his ministry is coordinating with relevant authorities to gather data on how many former JI members are eligible for parole or amnesty.

“All of them, be it those who have been convicted and those who are in process, we will discuss the possibility of getting amnesty and abolition from the president.

“The amnesty and abolition process is being formulated. InsyaAllah, it can be carried out in the first months of 2025,” he said.

Last week, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail confirmed the return of two Malaysians who were under detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, since 2006 - Mohammed Nazir Lep and Mohamad Farik Amin - who were both arrested in connection with JI-linked attacks.

COMMENT | Terrorism: Keep watch on preachers and their ideologies

COMMENT | Terrorism: Keep watch on preachers and their ideologies

Counter-terrorism cops nab over 20 suspected IS supporters

Counter-terrorism cops nab over 20 suspected IS supporters

IS still a lurking danger, security experts warn

IS still a lurking danger, security experts warn

Minister confirms US handover of two M'sian Guantanamo Bay inmates

Minister confirms US handover of two M'sian Guantanamo Bay inmates