National Police Spokeman Insp. Gen. Nanan Soekarta shows journalists a photo of terror suspect Mohamad Jibril (aka Muhamad Ricky Ardan), in Jakarta on Tuesday. Police arrested Jibril on Tuesday for his alleged involvement in the July 17 bomb attacks on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.
National Police arrested Mohamad Jibril on Tuesday for his involvement in channeling money to fund the July bombings of the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta.
National police spokesman, Insp. Gen. Nanan Soekarna, said that Jibril, also known as Muhammad Jibriel Abdul Rahman and Muhamad Ricky Ardhan, was arrested in Jakarta for his alleged role in seeking funding for the bombings both domestically and from abroad.
“He was arrested by officers from the special counterterrorism squad and is currently being questioned,” Nanan said.
The police, he said, were intensifying efforts to crackdown on the financial sources of the bombings a day before they officially declared the Saudi Arabian national, Ali Muhammad bin Abdullah alias Al Khalil "Ali", a suspect involved in the financing of the Jakarta hotel bombings.
However, Nanan refused to elaborate further on where Jibril was being detained.
“We have confirmed the recent bombings were funded by foreign sources.
"Whether they were funded by al-Qaeda or not is still not clear. We need more time to identify where the funds originated from,” he said.
Jibril is the son of Muhammad Iqbal, alias Abu Jibril, a Muslim cleric who was deported from Malaysia some years ago after being linked to Jemaah Islamiyah, a radical group connected to Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaeda.
Abu Jibril now lives in Witana Raharja Housing Complex in Pamulang, Tangerang, Banten.
Several years ago, he was detained at the National Police headquarters for two weeks after a bomb exploded in his front yard.
However, he was later released after the police failed to find evidence linking him to terrorist activities.
Knowing that his son was being targeted by the police, Abu Jibril recently traveled to the National Police headquarters to seek clarification.
“I am here partly to protest as I am sure that my son is innocent,” he said.
Muhammad Haryadi, one of Jibril’s lawyers, said that until then, the Jibril family had been in the dark regarding Jibril’s whereabouts even though Nanan had acknowledged that Jibril had already been arrested by the police.
“No police officials informed us about the arrest, let alone allowed us to meet him in person,” he told The Jakarta Post.
The police have focused their investigation on the sources of funding as they believe the recent bombings required huge funds from inside and outside the country.
In addition to detaining Jibril and Ali, the police also arrested Iwan Herdiansyah for his links to Ali and other Arab nationals wanted by the police.
Iwan however, was later released as the police failed to prove he was connected to the terrorist group led by Noordin M. Top.
As for Ali, the police managed to find significant proof that he was connected to the funding of the recent Jakarta bombings.
Ali is suspected of being an international courier and of seeking donors to finance terrorist activities.
Head of counterterrorism at the Office of the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Insp. Gen. (ret) Ansyaad Mbai, said the money used for the recent bombings could have originated from personal or charitable sources in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
Though revelations on suspected sources of foreign funds is rare from officials, Ansyaad said the involvement of overseas donors from the Middle East had been known since the bomb attacks in Bali in 2002 and those against the Marriott hotel in 2003.
In addition to questioning Ali and Jibril, Nanan said the police were also pursuing several other people of Middle Eastern descent who had fled after learning of Ali's arrest.
- The Jakarta Post -
15 years ago
