[Nasional-m] Trial of Laskar Jihad leader adjourned

[Ambon]

The Jakarta Post
16 Aug. 2002

Trial of Laskar Jihad leader adjourned

JAKARTA (AGENCIES): The trial of the head of Laskar Jihad, Ja'far Umar
Thalib, at the East Jakarta District Court has been adjourned, AP reported.
Judge Mansur Nasution adjourned the trial until Aug. 29, when Indonesian
prosecutors are expected to present their case.
Ja'far's trial was scheduled to start Aug. 1, but a panel of judges of the
East Jakarta District Court postponed the hearing because the defendant was
ill.
Ja'far is charged with inciting hatred and religious violence in the
strife-torn Maluku islands. He could face a maximum sentence of six years in
prison if convicted. He is also charged with insulting the President and
Vice President and trying to provoke violence against authorities.
Police arrested Ja'far in May for a speech in the Maluku provincial capital
of Ambon, during which he allegedly implored his followers to ignore a peace
agreement in the Maluku islands.
More than 6,000 people have been killed in sectarian clashes there since
arly 1999, although a peace pact signed earlier this year has managed to
keep a lid on major outbreaks of violence.
Ja'far has claimed the trial against him is discriminatory, arguing that he
only carried out his duty as a religious leader.
The Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI) once questioned the police's
discriminative stance for not arresting Theo Syafei, a former general who is
a prominent figure in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI
Perjuangan), for a speech he made that allegedly incited hatred and
religious violence in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, in 1999.