Indonesian cleric sentenced to die

Rebuilding Marawi

JAKARTA, June 23, (Agencies): A radical Indonesian cleric was sentenced to death Friday for masterminding a 2016 Islamic State terror attack that saw a suicide bomber blow himself up at a Starbucks cafe.

Aman Abdurrahman was found guilty of ordering the attack that killed four in Jakarta, as heavily armed police guarded his sentencing at court in the capital.

It was the first attack claimed by the international terror network in Southeast Asia.

“(The defendant) has been proven to have committed a criminal act of terrorism,” said judge Akhmad Jaini, who also cited Abdurrahman’s involvement in other deadly plots. “He will be sentenced to death.” Abdurrahman — who was already in jail on a separate terror conviction — gestured to his legal team and briefly kissed the floor, as machine gun-toting guards stood nearby.

His lawyer, Asludin Hatjani, said the ruling was “unfair”, citing a lack of evidence connecting Abdurrahman to the attack, which he was accused of organising from inside prison.

Executions are carried out by firing squad in the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, which has long struggled with Islamist militancy.

In 2002, bombings at the resort island of Bali killed over 200 — mostly foreign tourists — in Indonesia’s worst-ever terror attack.

Three militants involved in the Bali bombing have since been executed.

Abdurrahman

Battle

The assault in the capital two years ago saw security forces battle radicals near the cafe where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives.

Considered the de facto head of IS supporters in Indonesia, Abdurrahman, 46, is also the spiritual leader of local extremist network Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD).

JAD was involved in the 2016 Jakarta attack and a wave of suicide bombings last month in Indonesia’s second-biggest city Surabaya, according to authorities.

Two families — including girls aged nine and 12 — blew themselves up at churches and a police station, killing 13.

Abdurrahman has not been charged in the Surabaya attacks.

His death sentence will be welcomed by some JAD members, analysts said.

Community takes lead:

When Tong Pacasum was allowed back into the area where his family home once stood in Marawi on the Philippine island of Mindanao, there was nothing left for him to salvage months after a bloody siege that levelled much of the city.

But Pacasum considers himself lucky: his family is safe, and they have a title to their property, which will be key as residents and authorities begin rebuilding after the country’s biggest and fiercest urban battle in years.

Others among the 200,000 Maranaos — as residents of Marawi are known — are not as fortunate.

When pro-Islamic State rebels laid siege to the city in May 2017, everyone fled. Residents including Pacasum were allowed to inspect their homes and retrieve their belongings only recently.

Groundbreaking — when demolitions of all affected structures will begin — is scheduled for July, after a private developer is selected.

The process will take several months, after which construction of roads and other public facilities will begin.

The government will then give funds to residents will then be given funds to construct their homes. Rebuilding Marawi could cost more than $1 billion and will be complete by the end of 2021, officials estimate.

But the process could be delayed by questions on land ownership, said Pacasum, who helped evacuate people during the siege, and now liaises with the provincial government on rehabilitation.

“It’s going to be a huge challenge, as a lot of residents don’t have titles to their properties, even though they have been living there for generations,” he said.

“If we don’t do it right, it will cause more pain and suffering, and we have already suffered so much,” said Pacasum, who has participated in consultations with other residents and officials on the plans for rebuilding.

Muslims as well as indigenous people have been caught in the middle of a five-decade old insurgency in Mindanao, exacerbated by loggers and mining companies eager to tap its rich resources including gold, copper and nickel, experts say.