Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Home Front: WoT

Pre-trial hearings resume for SEAsian suspects held at Guantanamo

2023-04-25

[BenarNews] Prosecutors preparing a case against three Southeast Asians incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay will finish sharing evidence with defense attorneys in January 2024, lawyers said Monday, illustrating the glacial pace of progress toward trial for men held at the controversial prison since 2006.

Indonesian Encep Nurjaman (also known as Hambali

...real name Riduan Isamuddin, close personal friend of Osama bin Laden, one of the founders of Jemaah Islamiyah and the planner of the 2002 Bali bombings. He was captured with the help of a mid-Eastern intel service, shipped to Guantanamo to rot but he'll likely be released eventually because that was a long time ago and we were all so much younger then...
) and Malaysians Nazir bin Lep

...more formally Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, informally Lillie. He’s one of Hambali’s lieutenants — they were captured together in Thailand in 2003...

and Farik bin Amin

... another Hambali lieutenant, he’s known more formally as Mohd Farik Bin Amin, his nom de guerre was Zubair Zaid and while it’s uncertain whether he was captured with the other two, the three spent years with the same interrogators. His cousin was master bomb maker Zulkifli Abdhir, called Marwan, who provided senior management and work product for the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, Jemaah Islamiyah, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters until he intersected a hail of Philippine bullets in 2015...

were present in the courtroom at the U.S. military facility in Cuba for proceedings witnessed by news hounds via video link to Fort Meade, a military base about an hour northeast of Washington. The men face charges linked to terrorist bombings in Indonesia in 2002 and 2003.

Lead prosecutor Col. George C. Kraehe said his team was seeking to "get this case tried on the merits by March 2025."

Earlier, Brian Bouffard, who represents bin Lep, questioned the government’s pace in presenting evidence to the defense teams. Lawyers for bin Amin and Nurjaman raised similar issues.

"We are trying to uncover the reasons for delay after delay after delay," Bouffard told the court.

Military Judge Hayes C. Larsen noted the defense concerns about late filings.

Kraehe said his team was working to gather evidence for the trial, adding that it was working on this even during the hearing.

"This is not unusual in a national security case," he said.

Kraehe said that about 90% of the evidence had been turned over to the defense, and the remaining 10% was highly classified. Because of that, steps need to be taken before it is turned over to defense, he said, adding that he expected to finish doing so by late January 2024.

Referred to as "alien unprivileged enemy belligerents" in some court documents, Nurjaman, bin Amin and bin Lep face charges related to twin bombings that killed 202 people in Bali in October 2002 — Indonesia’s deadliest terror attack to date — and a bombing at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003.

Following their 2003 arrests in Thailand, the three were sent to secret CIA black sites before being moved to the Guantanamo Bay prison in 2006. A U.S. Senate report released in 2014 found that each was tortured during his time in the black sites.

INTERPRETATION ISSUES
Monday’s hearing — the first of three days scheduled — began with prosecutors questioning Larsen, who will be leaving the bench in June to assume command of the Navy’s Defense Service Office West. He said he did not have any information about who would take over the trial.

Twenty minutes into the hearing, Bouffard and Christine Funk, who represents bin Amin, complained — as they have done throughout the legal process — of inadequate translation services, saying their clients were hearing Bahasa Indonesia interpretation instead of their national language, Bahasa Malaysia.

Later, the two lawyers told Larsen that English words were being intermixed with the translations.

"It’s a tired refrain," Larsen responded, dismissing the complaint.

During their two-day August 2021 arraignment, lawyers for the three men spent much of the time protesting before Larsen regarding the poor quality of interpreting.

Larsen ordered military prosecutors to hire and assign qualified interpreters for any upcoming court action.

Link

Home Front: WoT

Guantanamo court sets pre-trial hearing for suspects in Bali bombings

2022-08-23

[BenarNews] An Indonesian and two Malaysians who have been incarcerated for more than 15 years at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on terrorism charges linked to the 2002 Bali bombings are scheduled to appear in court for a pre-trial hearing in late October, U.S. defense officials announced Monday.

If all goes to schedule, Indonesian Encep Nurjaman (also known as Hambali

...more formally Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep, informally Lillie. He’s one of Hambali’s lieutenants — they were captured together in Thailand in 2003...

and Farik Bin Amin

will appear in a military court at Guantanamo from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 — in what would be only their second court appearance since their arrests in Thailand in 2003. Their court hearing will take place a little more than two weeks after the 20th anniversary of the Bali bombings — the deadliest terrorist attack in Indonesia’s history.

When the three were arrested 19 years ago, they were sent to CIA black sites, where they were tortured, before being transferred to the U.S. military prison in Cuba in 2006, according to a 2014 U.S. Senate report.

The military court and the U.S. Department of Defense did not release details of the planned hearing for the three, "all of whom have been charged jointly in connection with their alleged roles in the 2002 and 2003 bombings in Indonesia," in a notice to media interested in covering the proceedings at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo.

The trio first appeared at a military court there during their arraignment in August 2021. At the time, their lawyers lodged a protest before military Judge Hayes Larsen about the poor quality of the audio translations their clients were receiving.

Referred to as "alien unprivileged enemy belligerents" in some court documents, Nurjaman, bin Lep and bin Amin face charges related to twin bombings that killed 202 people in Bali in October 2002 and a bombing at the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003. None of the men entered a plea to the charges against them following their arraignment last August.

In an effort to improve translations, Larsen ordered military prosecutors to hire and assign qualified interpreters for any upcoming court action.

"The defense teams all indicated they need assurances in order to be able to use their government-provided defense interpreters for attorney-client communications," Larsen wrote in a January court filing ahead of what was supposed to be a pre-trial hearing in late February.

Responding to the judge, prosecutors said in a Feb. 1 filing that they were seeking to hire four full-time interpreters, two for each language.

"Because of the uncertain timeline involved in obtaining clearances for new hires who do not have clearances, it is too speculative to estimate when fully cleared full-time interpreters will be available to assist the commission," they wrote.

James Hodes, who represents Hambali, blasted the prosecutors, noting they had 18 years to prepare their case against his client, which included hiring "qualified commission interpreters."

"This is what you are tasked with and this is what you have failed to provide," he told BenarNews earlier this year while calling the lack of interpreters a "huge obstacle for a fair trial."

Hodes could not immediately be reached on Monday for comment on the proposed court dates.

Link

Southeast Asia

Reports of Malaysian terrorist's death greatly exaggerated

2014-06-22

A Malaysian ~~terrorist~~ militant thought to have been killed in an air strike two years ago is alive and actively training new recruits. Zulkifli Abdhir, who once headed Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia and was a member of Jemaah Islamiyah's central command, is back on local most wanted lists. Intelligence agencies believe he is now an operative of the Abu Sayyaf ~~terrorist~~ militant group. Zulkifli is also high on the FBI's most wanted list.

Intelligence sources said the bomb expert who is also known by his alias, Marwan, is believed to be a top asset to the group, and had trained a significant number of bombers, including suicide bombers. They include the new cadre of Malaysian ~~terrorists~~ militants who are looking for combat experience before joining ~~terrorist~~ militant groups active in Syria and Iraq. The sources revealed that these ~~terrorists~~ militants were required to pay a significant amount in fees for training that would provide them with battle skills.

The Philippine military, following a February 2012 raid on Jolo Island, had said it was confident that Marwan, along with more than a dozen others, including the group's top figures, had been killed. However, security analysts had cast doubt over the raid's success, saying the conclusion was made based on field reports and that their identities were not confirmed.

This revelation came as the authorities are arresting up more and more militants bound for Syria, including several who had just returned from the Abu Sayyaf's two-month training program in the southern Philippines.

Link

Southeast Asia

New al-Qaeda-inspired terror group emerges in Malaysia

2014-05-10

A new terrorist group has emerged from under the wing of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), planning to commit acts of terror in Malaysia. Local authorities have recently arrested 11 people on suspicion of involvement with the unnamed, al-Qaeda-inspired group.

Regarding the arrests, Home Minister Zahid Hamidi said some organizations were using humanitarian missions to train militants in other countries. He said, "We encourage humanitarian missions to other countries, but we will not allow such missions to be used to train members for militant activities."

Reports say the group sent members posing as humanitarian workers to Syria for training.

Though authorities have the 11 suspects in custody, officials at federal police headquarters said police "were nowhere near neutralizing the threat posed by this new terror group".

The group was started in late 2013 and has aggressively recruited new members through Facebook, and infiltrating universities and religious classes. In addition, the new group has dispatched some operatives to Syria, according to reports.

Link

Southeast Asia

More on the Malaysian busts

2006-05-31

THEIR aim was to wreak havoc in several neighbouring countries of Malaysia. But with the arrest of 12 men, Malaysian police believe it has blunted the efforts of a new terror group. However, it is not known what the group's targets were or when it planned to strike.

The Star reported today that the capture of this 'dirty dozen' was the Malaysian police's biggest success against terrorism since the crackdown on Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), which had links with the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network.

The 12 men were arrested off the coasts of Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah following months of surveillance. The men are believed to be members of Darul Islam. Though most of its members are Indonesians, two of those arrested were Malaysians.

Malaysian police had learnt that some members of the group would be in 'transit' in Malaysia while on their way to neighbouring countries and so kept a watch. Their work paid off. 'It was hard work. The Malaysian police had been tracking their movements over the last six months. Then they moved in to smash the militant group before it could carry out its plans. It is certainly one of the biggest anti-terrorist successes,' a source told The Star.

The source said the police seized several firearms and documents, including bomb-making instructions downloaded from the Internet.

Of the Malaysians arrested, one is a religious teacher with a degree in Arabic literature from a university in Syria, while the other is a graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang. Their job was to organise lodging, transport and other logistical requirements for the group.

Even though the Darul Islam was described by the newspaper as a new terror outfit, the group has been around for more than 50 years, and its aim is to establish an Indonesian Islamic state. At least 11 members of the group are already in detention in Malaysia. They are being held at the Kamunting detention centre in Perak.

Malaysian police are investigating if Darul Islam has links with the Abu Sayyaf terror group based in the Philippines and Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaeda.

Regional analysts said that it was no surprise that police were keeping a close watch on Sabah. One risk analyst in Singapore, who was not named, told The Star: 'It is close to the southern Philippines, where terror camps have been set up, and Indonesia. Sabah is also important economically. It is a popular international destination.'

According to The Straits Times, Darul Islam was founded in 1948.

The only Malaysian mujahideen group known so far is the KMM, established in mid-1990. Its objective is to create a pan-South-east Asian Islamic caliphate.

Link

Southeast Asia

US sez Mindanao's a terror hub

2005-09-20

A US antiterrorist agency has tagged the Philippines as the Southeast Asian nation with the most number of terrorist groups in operation, ANC reported.

The abs-cbn.com said the report cited information provided by the US National CounterÂterrorism Center (www.tkb.org) that listed 10 terror groups operating in the Philippines. The agency said terrorist-related attacks against the government and Philippine citizens numbered at least 25 for the first five months of the year.

Among the groups on the NCTC list are Abdurajak Janjalani Brigade, Abu Sayyaf Group, Alex Boncayao Brigade, Free Vietnam Revolutionary Group, Indigenous Peopleâs Federal Army, Jemaah Islamiah, Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, New Peopleâs Army and al-Qaeda.

The NCTC has a total of 786 groups in its database. Of these groups, 36 operate in Southeast Asia and the Oceania region.

Of the groups tagged in the Philippines, the most prominent organizations are the Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiah, NPA and al-Qaeda.

The Abu Sayyaf gained notoriety for its kidnap-for-ransom and terrorist-related activities in Mindanao. The Jemaah Islamiah has been tagged by the government for bomb attacks that killed dozens of people in urban center in Mindanao and even in Metro Manila.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and has been waging insurgency from the countryside for the past three decades.

Al-Qaeda, reports said, is funneling funds to train terror cells in the Philippines.

Link

Southeast Asia

Kumpulan Mujahideen Malaysia primer

2005-08-20

The Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) advocates the overthrow of the Malaysian government and the establishment of an Islamic regime comprising Malaysia, Indonesia and the southern Philippines. The organization was founded in 1995 by Zainon Ismail with the pan-Islamist goal of forming an Islamic state in Southeast Asia and identified the secular governments of the region, notably that of Malaysia, as its primary enemies. The group enjoys significant ties with other regional Islamic extremist organizations, such as Jemaah Islamiah (JI) â something that bolsters its influence and operational capabilities. Though it has suffered setbacks due to recent regional counterterrorism efforts, the KMM continues to maintain its founding ideology and objectives.

Zainon Ismail, an Afghan mujaheddin during the 1980s, served as the head of KMM from 1995 through 1999. Indeed, much of the organizationâs membership consists of former Afghan mujahidin fighters. Like Ismail, they were inspired and further radicalized by the success of Afghan mujaheddin forces during their 1980s guerrilla war against the Soviets. Thus, the militant, anti-secular and anti-imperialist ideology that developed as a result of the Afghan-Soviet war served as a founding influence of the early KMM leadership and helped shape the groupâs ideological expansion.

The KMM views the Malaysian, Indonesian and Filipino governments as corrupt tools of Western imperialism bent on containing and destroying Islam. In order to achieve its goal of a pan-Islamist Southeast Asian state, the group thus advocates and works towards the overthrow of the regionâs secular governments.

The KMMâs links with other regional extremist organizations are a critical aspect of its ability to spread its influence and gain new members. Malaysian authorities believe that several militant KMM factions are aligned with JI, an Indonesian terrorist organization that has ties with al-Qaida and is one of the largest such groups in Southeast Asia. Key JI leaders, such as its spiritual head Abu Bakar Bashir, supposedly have provided spiritual guidance to KMM members. Singaporean officials also claim that JI members have also provided logistical and financial support to the KMMâs terrorist activities in Indonesia. In August 2001, Singaporeâs government expressed concern over the activities of Malaysian extremist groups, such as the KMM, in the region. The same month two Malaysian nationals were arrested for their suspected links to the group and believed involvement in bombings in Indonesia.

Southeast Asian officials believe that the KMM has been able to successfully spread its influence and augment its strength beyond Malaysian borders through its relationship with groups like JI. The KMM is believed to have operational networks active in the Perak, Johor, Kedah, Selanger, Terangganu and Kelantan states of Malaysia as well as Wilayah Persukutuan, the district of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The group has also been active in Ambon, Indonesia, where, in July 2001, members of an Islamic missionary group with suspected ties to the KMM were arrested for gunrunning. The Malaysian government believes that smaller militant factions have split from the KMM to conduct independent operations in Malaysia as well as overseas.

As a result of the existence of smaller KMM factions, and the groupâs ties with other extremist organizations, government authorities have found it difficult to determine the exact membership of the organization. Currently, the Malaysian government estimates that the KMM comprises 70 to 80 members. However, law enforcement officials have investigated upwards of 200 militants with suspected ties to the group and other organizations, such as JI. Malaysia has imprisoned numerous KMM members under its Internal Security Act, which permits the government to detain any persons identified as national security threats. Thus far, Malaysian police have investigated and detained suspected militants believed to have been engaged in âplanning to wage jihad, possession of weaponry, bombings and robberies, the murder of [a] former state assemblyman, and planning attacks on foreigners-including U.S. citizens.â Many of these detainees have suspected ties to the KMM as well as JI, which illustrates the intricate nature of the groupsâ interaction. In total, 48 members of the KMM and its associated factions and organizations have been detained in Malaysia under the Internal Security Act, including the groupâs former leader Nik Adli Nik Abdul Aziz. Aziz assumed control of the KMM in 1999, and his detention has been extended through September 2005. The KMMâs current lack of central leadership has hampered the groupâs ability to conduct operations but, nonetheless, it subsists â largely due to its connections with JI and other regional groups as well as its own diffuse and decentralized network of cells.

The KMM is also suspected of receiving military training in Afghanistan (prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida attacks on America) but the exact degree to which it receives additional external aid, aside from limited financial and logistical support from Jemaah Islamiyah, is unknown. Thus, the group is thought to be largely self-financing and, in this vein, to rely on robberies and other criminal activities to fund its operations. It is suspected of carrying out murders and other violent crimes throughout Malaysia and Indonesia (in concert with its suspected regional partners). The KMM has not carried out any recent attacks, most likely due to stepped-up counterterrorism campaigns by Southeast Asian governments as well as increased cooperation among states in the region. This cooperation includes the December 2001 accord between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines whereby they pledged to share intelligence, fight terrorism and combat border crime. Such accords are vital in fighting groups such as KMM which operation across the sprawling Southeast Asian region.

â¢ Official Name: Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM)

â¢ Countries of Operation: Active networks in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia as well as suspected activity in the southern Philippines.

â¢ Year Founded: 1995

â¢ Membership: Estimated to be between 70 and 80 but exact numbers unknown due to existence of splinter factions and close ties with other militant organizations in the region.

â¢ Affiliated Groups: Jemaah Islamiah (Indonesia) as well as suspected ties with other unidentified regional groups (such as Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippines).

â¢ External Aid: has received military training in Afghanistan and logistical and financial support from Jemaah Islamiah but is currently believed to be largely self-supporting and self-financing.

Link

Southeast Asia

JI members still active, planning new attacks

2005-06-09

Indonesian police say there has been an increase in communication among militants wanted for a string of deadly attacks, including the Bali bombings, indicating that they are planning fresh strikes.

"We can say to the public that there has been an increase in the intensity of their communication. Intelligence agencies are working hard to monitor them," national police chief General Da'i Bachtiar said.

General Bachtiar says the militants are believed to be in Indonesia but had contact with others overseas.

"It's hard to arrest them because the country is so large and there are always people who help them in hiding," the police chief said.

He says heightened security at embassies and other places will be maintained until the threat subsided.

In another development, police say they hope to find the names of people involved in attacks in Indonesia on a laptop computer seized from a Islamic cleric whose house was attacked by a bomb on Wednesday.

General Bachtiar's spokesman Zainuri Lubis says police are questioning the cleric Muhammad Iqbal - who is accused by the United States of being second in command of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) militant group.

Iqbal was jailed last year for six months over immigration offences after being deported from Malaysia where he had been held for two years under the country's harsh Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial.

Malaysian authorities accused him of having links to Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, a militant group which like the Al Qaeda-linked JI seeks to set up an Islamic state.

The United States and Australia warned last week that militants are planning bomb attacks against hotels in Indonesia frequented by foreigners, urging their citizens to defer all non-essential travel to the country.

The warnings said Indonesian police have identified embassies, international schools, office buildings and shopping malls as other potential targets.

Two Malaysian fugitives, Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top, wanted in connection with all three incidents are believed to be still at large in Indonesian and plotting further attacks.

Link

Southeast Asia

Blast at home of Indon 'militant'

2005-06-08

A SMALL bomb exploded today at a house rented by an Indonesian Muslim preacher who was once detained for two years without trial in Malaysia for alleged involvement in terrorism, a fellow activist said. No one was injured in the blast on the outskirts of Jakarta, Irfan Awwas, chairman of the hardline group Indonesian Mujahedin Council, said. The preacher, Muhammad Iqbal, also known as Abu Jibril, was being questioned by police, Mr Awwas told AFP. "We condemn this heinous terror attack. We suspect that police are trying to twist facts by putting the blame on the victims," he said. Mr Awwas said police searched the house after the explosion, which occurred in the grounds near the garage. An AFP photographer at the scene said the blast caused no damage to the house.

Iqbal was held for two years in Malaysia under the country's harsh Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial, for alleged involvement with the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, a militant group seeking to set up an Islamic state. He was deported to Indonesia last year and was subsequently jailed for six months for immigration offences. The United States has accused Iqbal of being a primary recruiter and second in command of South-East Asia's extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is linked to al-Qaeda.

Link

Southeast Asia

Thailand: A safe haven for al Qaeda?

2002-12-05

Evidence is mounting that the country has unwittingly been playing a role for terror network operatives in Southeast Asia, and could, at the very least be providing a safe haven for al Qaeda. When al Qaeda operative Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi was arrested in the Philippines early this year, he was on his way to Thailand. Based on confidential intelligence documents obtained by CNN, Al-Ghozi told his Filipino interrogators al Qaeda operatives were told to meet in Thailand to avoid a terror crackdown in neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.
Al-Ghozi never made it to that meeting, but another al Qaeda operative did -- Canadian-Kuwaiti Mohammed Mansour Jabarah.

An intelligence report from a western nation confirms Jabarah attended that meeting along with another man, Riduan Isamuddin.
Also known as Hambali, Riduan Isamuddin is the operations chief for Jemaah Islamiya (JI), al Qaeda's network in the region. Intelligence sources tell CNN Hambali sits on al Qaeda's leadership council. An FBI document obtained by CNN says it was in Thailand that Hambali announced a "plan to conduct small bombings in bars, cafes or nightclubs frequented by Westerners in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Indonesia."
A CIA document obtained by CNN confirms that "Hambali was located in Thailand and commented that he had one ton of explosives in Indonesia."
All these "leaks" of documents make me wonder if somebody high up has authorized their release.
Al Qaeda operatives, regional intelligence officials tell CNN, are working with local members in Thailand. However, Thailand denies the presence of al Qaeda within its borders.
"No, don't say that! It's bad for the tourist industry!"
"We have no such evidence that Thailand is the place where they have, they plan terrorism or they have any relation to terrorism," Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told CNN.
Denial is one of the first steps you have to work through.
Philippine intelligence reports obtained by CNN show numerous links between armed Muslim groups in Thailand and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest Muslim separatist group in the Philippines. The MILF ran three al Qaeda training camps, intelligence officials tell CNN, and when the Philippine military captured one of those camps, soldiers found Thai passports.
These guys seem to lose passports at a alarming rate. No wonder they have to have so many of them.
Recently, Thailand's Supreme Military Commander, Gen. Surayud Chulanont, said he is aware Muslim extremists fled to Thailand following the crackdowns in neighboring nations, but denied they had any links to the Bali bombings.
Fingers crossed behind his back.
Yet, according to CNN's investigation, one of the militant groups he named, the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia from Malaysia has been co-opted by al Qaeda and linked to the Bali blasts.
The problem with denial, intelligence officials say, is that -- like in Indonesia -- at worst, it allows the network to flourish. At best, denial gives al Qaeda a safe haven.
And at worst, you wake up and they are running your country. I'm afraid Thailand may not wake up until the bombs start going off in their country.

Link

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