JI Leader Testifies in Indonesian Trial
JAKARTA, Nov. 13 (AFP) - A jailed senior leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group testified against two other alleged militants Wednesday, as they stood trial on terrorism charges in Indonesia. Self-proclaimed JI leader Abu Dujana, who is serving 15 years for terrorism offences, told the court Agus Purwanto and Abu Husna had been his students at a militant training camp in Moro, the Philippines, in 1999. "They learned basic military training including how to use guns, as well as knowledge of sharia (Islamic law) and jihad (holy war)," Dujana told the court. Purwanto and Husna were arrested in Malaysia in January en-route to Syria, and are accused of assisting terrorists and withholding information about terrorist attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people. Husna, Purwanto and another alleged militant, Parmin, are standing trial separately in the central Jakarta district court. Dujana gave the same testimony in the trials of Husna and Purwanto, who are accused of helping him and another JI leader, Zarkasi, evade police. He did not testify against Parmin, who is accused of abetting Malaysian-born JI leader Noordin Mohammad Top, and Azahari Husin, a master JI bomb maker killed by police in 2005. Dujana and Zarkasi were jailed for 15 years in April for helping terrorists and possessing, storing and moving weapons destined for terror acts. Purwanto is alleged to have headed JI operations in the Poso region of Sulawesi island during brutal Christian-Muslim clashes in 2000-2001. He is also alleged to have associated with Hasanuddin, the convicted mastermind of the 2005 beheading of three Christian schoolgirls in the province. Purwanto faces the death penalty while Husna and Parmin face 15 years' prison. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
