22 East Java Terrorist Suspects Not Related To FPI

Evidence from 22 terrorist suspects when shown at the East Java Regional Police (AM Sby / VOI)

JAKARTA - The National Police emphasized that the 22 terrorist suspects arrested in East Java were not related to the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI).

There was a suspicion that there was a connection with the FPI because previously most of the terrorist suspects arrested in South Sulawesi were members of the FPI.

"For the time being it has nothing to do with FPI", said Head of Public Information Bureau, Police Public Relations Division, Brigadier General Rusdi Hartono, to reporters, Thursday, March 18.

The 22 terrorist suspects belong to the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) network. Meanwhile, the suspected terrorists who were arrested in South Sulawesi were known to be affiliated with several networks. One of them is the Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) network.

"This group is the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) group and colleagues from the Densus 88 Anti-terror often call it a Fahim group", said Brigadier General Rusdi.

Rusdi said Fahim was a leader in this terrorist group. So, to make it easier this group is called the Fahim group.

"They are the leaders of Fahim's group, the last one who came down was the Fahim", he said.

The 22 suspected terrorists who were arrested in the East Java region were transferred to Jakarta. They will be placed in the Terrorist Detention Center in Cikeas, Bogor, West Java.

"So the 22 suspects will be taken to the Cikeas detention center", said Rusdi.

Dozens of suspected terrorists belong to the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) network. They were arrested in less than a week.

Even though they were part of the same network, they were arrested at different locations. There are at least six locations in the arrest of the suspected terrorist.

"Since February 26, 2021, until March 2, 2021, colleagues from the Densus 88 Anti-terror have carried out law enforcement against 22 suspected perpetrators of the criminal act of terrorism in East Java", said Rusdi.