Danger! Of The Thousands Of Prisoners Who Participated In The Deradicalization Program, Many Still Return To Be Terrorists

Photo via Antara

JAKARTA - Head of BNPT Komjen Boy Rafli Amar revealed sad facts. Of the thousands of former terrorism convicts who participated in deradicalization activities outside correctional institutions (prisons), hundreds of them returned to being recidivist terrorism cases.

Meanwhile, for derivative activities in prisons, Boy said that BNPT had carried out 355 deradicalization activities against 475 convicts spread across 62 prisons and one special prison for class IIB Sentul terrorists, West Java.

"Outside the prison, BNPT has carried out deradicalization activities against 1,192 people or groups of ex-convicts. Of the total number of ex-convicts indicated 1,036, 116 (ex-convicts) have returned to being recidivist in terrorism cases, from this data 19 people are still in prison," Boy said in a working meeting with Commission III of the DPR RI at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Monday, February 13.

Boy said that several former convicts who returned to being terrorism recidivist included Agus Sujatno, the suicide bomber at the Astanaanyar Police, Bandung, on December 7, 2022.

"We certainly don't want this suicide bombing to happen again. Therefore, BNPT is committed to increasing supervision of ex-terrorism convicts, who in particular are still red," he said.

He also said that not all of the ex-convicts who left prison had pledged allegiance to the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and initiated their actions, so that it was called a challenge for BNPT in the future.

"At least 80 percent of our data is part of those who are still adamant about their stance, with their ideology. So because we are facing our group to face a group that is indeed one of them, there are still those who believe in what is believed to be the truth. This is our challenge in the future," he said.

According to him, this was because the ex-convicts had an error in thinking or distorting the truth so that the provision of prisoners and deradicalization programs became difficult to provide a deterrent effect.

"So those facts encourage in the end when there are calls from other parties that he has actually been involved in, he repeats it again. So indeed we evaluate this issue and then the importance of collaboration in the supervision that we improve," said Boy who was met after the working meeting.