Authorities Watchful After Threat to Break Abu Bakar Bashir From Jail
Jakarta. Indonesian counterterrorism authorities are on alert after a YouTube video was posted threatening to break terrorist convict Abu Bakar Bashir out of prison.
The video, which was viewed more than 5000 times before it was removed, showed a man wearing a mask and carrying a rifle saying the Islamic State (IS) movement would help free Bashir, who is being held at a maximum-security prison on Nusakambangan island, off Java.
Bashir is the founder and leader of extremist group Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid, or JAT. In July last year he instructed his followers to support IS and its establishment of a caliphate in the Middle East.
“I can’t say whether it’s a big threat or not," National Police spokesman Cmr. Gen. Putut Eko Bayuseno told detik.com on Thursday. "The most important thing is that we have to stay alert."
Authorities believe the man in the video could be Indonesian-born Islamic State fighter named Abu Jandal, who appeared in a YouTube video in December airing threats to Indonesian military and police’s counterterrorism unit Densus 88.
Police are taking the video, titled “Salim News alias Abu Jandal," seriously and have started an investigation involving their criminal investigation unit Bareskrim, Densus 88 and the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).
“The National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) director, Brig. Gen. Rudi Sufahriadi, yesterday did some training in Nusakambangan in case the threat is real,” Putut said.
The Indonesian Armed Forces recently asked Nusakambangan prison authorities to limit the number of people who can visit Bashir to curb the spread of radical thought, and that he be transferred to another facility.
Tags: Keywords: