Bishop’s conference official calls for tightened security ahead of Christmas after high-profile terror convict freed
Terror suspect Umar Patek escorted by armed police steps out of a holding cell before attending his trial at a court in Jakarta on June 21, 2012. (Photo: AFP)
The Indonesian Bishops’ Conference (KWI) has called on Catholics to be on their guard after the government released a jailed terrorist behind a string of bomb attacks, including against Christians, two decades ago.
“We do not need to worry too much. But we must stay alert ahead of Christmas. We must pay serious attention to our own internal security. We must tighten it. It is better to prevent something bad from happening than it is to deal with it after it has happened,” Father Paulus Christian Siswantoko, the conference’s executive secretary told UCA News on Dec. 8.
The priest, a former executive secretary of the KWI’s Commission for Justice and Peace, said Hisyam bin Alizeon, better known as Umar Patek, “is a high-profile terror convict who played a big role and might still have [ill-intentioned] subordinates waiting for his release.”
Patek, a member of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, was freed on Dec. 7 after serving just over half of a 20-year sentence in a prison in Surabaya, East Java.
“There could be many temptations outside prison which could set him back on the terrorism path”
He was convicted in June 2012 for terrorist acts, including the 2002 bomb attacks on two nightclubs in Bali which killed 202 people — mostly foreigners — as well as Christmas Eve bomb attacks in 2000 on more than 20 churches across the country which killed at least 16 people.
According to Rika Aprianti from the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s Correctional Directorate, Patek was released after completing a deradicalization program and pledged allegiance to the state. However, he will be kept under surveillance until April 2030 and can be imprisoned again if he commits a crime during this period.
“Make sure the government closely monitors him. There could be many temptations outside prison which could set him back on the terrorism path,” Father Siswantoko said.
Stanislaus Riyanta, an intelligence analyst from the University of Indonesia, took a different view by saying Patek’s release could benefit government efforts in combating terrorism.
“I believe he can be a good partner in the government’s deradicalization program. I have seen his track record in this. He often serves as a speaker at seminars on countering the radical narrative and deradicalization,” he told UCA News.
In September last year, Patek was invited by the National Counter Terrorism Agency to an online seminar on tolerance. In 2016, he was a speaker at a similar seminar held by students in Malang, East Java.
“I would be worried if a terror convict who refused to join the government’s deradicalization program walked free”
“Radical individuals will not listen to the government whom they see as thogut [people who disobey God’s regulations]. So the government can use Patek to speak to them. He can help the government combat terrorism with regard to prevention, handling and recovery,” Riyanta said.
Asked about the terrorism threat following the release of Patek, he said “it is relative.”
“I am not worried too much about his release. I would be worried if a terror convict who refused to join the government’s deradicalization program walked free. Just like Agus Sujatno who recently carried out a suicide bomb attack in Bandung. This is dangerous,” he said.
A policeman was killed and another 10 were wounded in the Dec. 7 attack on a police station in Bandung, West Java. The attacker, Sujatno, who was believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State-inspired group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah, had previously been jailed on terrorism charges.
Olivia Flora Damara, 38, who was wounded in the Christmas Eve bombings said she was not worried about Patek’s release.
“I will not be able to go to Christmas Eve celebrations if I am still afraid. We must give him a chance to repent,” she said.
However, Patek’s release did not go down well with the Australian government.
Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles told ABC radio, that, “this is going to be a very difficult day for many Australians — all Australians — to hear about the release of Umar Patek.”
“I’m particularly thinking right now of the families of those who were killed and injured in the Bali bombings.”
Of the 202 victims, 88 were from Australia.
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