Abu Bakar Ba'asyir Was Free Without Being Greeted By Sympathizers

The atmosphere of Gunung Sindur Prison, Bogor Regency, West Java, Friday (8/1/2021) on the day of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's return. (ANTARA / M Fikri Setiawan)

JAKARTA - There were no sympathizers when former terrorist convict Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was released from Gunung Sindur Prison, Bogor Regency, West Java, after dawn prayers at around 05:21 WIB on Friday, January 8.

As reported by Antara, at the prison gate, since Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's pick-up vehicles entered one by one in the middle of the night until they left the prison area simultaneously, there were no sympathizers with religious attributes around the prison or on the road before entering the Gunung Sindur prison area.

Abu Bakar Baasyir did not even appear when he left the prison gate in a white Hyundai minibus with the license plate number AD-1138-WA.

The vehicle that Ba'asyir was traveling on was in second place of the five vehicles after being overtaken by a gray ambulance.

Meanwhile, Ba'asyir's son, Abdul Rahim Ba'asyir, admitted that he had appealed to sympathizers not to pick up prisoners or welcome them at his residence in Ngruki, Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java. This is so as not to cause crowds in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"There are no sympathizers. From the family side, the lodge also announced the community not to come together, especially since this is a pandemic situation," he said when contacted by Antara on his way home.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Division of the Directorate General of Public Relations, Rika Aprianti, said that the schedule for Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's return from Gunung Sindur Prison was deliberately pushed forward from working hours to early morning, so there would be no crowds of sympathizers.

"Alhamdulillah, there are no sympathizers. We are advancing (the schedule of repatriation) so that there are no crowds," said Rika.