Munarman Trial, Witness: Reveals Alleged Involvement Of Defendant In Terrorist Action

Munarman (DOK VOI)

JAKARTA - The Public Prosecutor (JPU) presented a number of witnesses in the follow-up trial of the alleged criminal act of terrorism against the defendant Munarman at the East Jakarta District Court. One of the witnesses had the initials IM, the person who reported the former General Secretary of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), Munarman on suspicions of terrorism crimes. In the trial of terrorism cases, the identity of the witness must be kept secret. This refers to the provisions of Article 33 and Article 34 A of Law Number 5 of 2018 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Terrorism. Witness IM, in giving his statement, stated that he suspected that Munarman had links to the terrorist attack that targeted the Cathedral Church in Jolo, Philippines in 2019.

IM's statement refers to the investigation into a series of terror acts carried out by the Makassar terrorist group. During the trial, the public prosecutor initially asked the witness about the basis for making a report on the alleged crime of terrorism committed by Munarman. In his answer, the witness stated that Munarman was allegedly related to the allegiance agenda in the tabligh akbar agenda on January 24-25 2015 in Makassar, South Sulawesi. "Then you mentioned earlier that there was a more in-depth investigation related to 2015 so that you will report it in 2021. What do you think about terrorism incidents that caused you to report Munarman?" said the Prosecutor, whose identity is withheld, Monday, January 17. IM also replied that the basis for the report against Munarman was when a bomb exploded at the Cathedral Church in Jolo, Southern Philippines, which was carried out by an Indonesian terrorist group. From the incident, the witness stated that there was a connection with a series of Makassar groups. "It was when there was a bombing at the Church Cathedral in Jolo which then led us to a link or network, which is also under investigation and finally there is a link, the connection between the events that occurred in Jolo and a series of what we call the Makassar group," said the witness whose voice was heard from a loudspeaker on the court's veranda. On this suspicion, IM said that the police immediately examined a number of witnesses. From this statement, the reporting witness strongly suspects Munarman's involvement in the terror act. "Well, this is what brings us to several witnesses who then gave statements which I strongly suspect are related to the involvement of Munarman's brother," said the witness. To IM, the Public Prosecutor then asked why the timeframe for the investigation into Munarman's case was only reported in 2021. In fact, Munarman's alleged involvement had been detected since 2015. In his answer, IM stated that the criminal act of terrorism is a process that requires a long process in order to collect evidence. That is, not just guessing, referring to the statements of a number of witnesses. "We did not immediately suspect from the statements of a few people before we were supported by some evidence. The natural incident was indeed triggered by an initial incident that recently occurred, namely a series of criminal acts of terrorism which based on the results of the investigation led to a flashback to a series of incidents- incident in 2015," he said.