By Ainur Rohmah
TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) – An Indonesian who pleaded guilty to involvement in the fatal 2002 Bali bombings shared his input Thursday with lawmakers debating proposed amendments to the country’s anti-terror laws.
The changes -- currently awaiting parliamentary approval -- were proposed following Jan. 14 attacks in Jakarta that left eight people dead, and are expected to strengthen the Special Forces counter-terrorism squad's authority in the process of arrest, detention and de-radicalization.
While the country has been under pressure to toughen anti-terrorism legislation and supervision of “radicalized” inmates, it has also drawn criticism from rights groups for not sufficiently protecting the rights of suspects.
Ali Imron, who was spared the death penalty after expressing remorse and agreeing to cooperate with police after the Bali bombings -- which killed 202, mostly Australians -- told parliament Thursday that the new measures should provide a wider space for terrorism prevention.
After presenting alongside officials from the National Counter-Terrorism Agency, Imron -- who is currently undergoing de-radicalization programs -- told reporters, “in particular, there should be the prevention of the spread of radicalism because of its danger."
Detik.com quoted him as saying, “nowadays people are increasingly engaged in terrorism because there are a lot of publications about [terror] attacks and doctrine. If there is no law [to regulate], then they are growing each day.”
He stressed that if a law focusing on prevention existed, the availability of such resources would be reduced.
"I told them [lawmakers] about the background of the perpetrators of the Bali bombings -- how we think," he said.
The National Counter-Terrorism Agency’s chief, Suhardi Alius, said Imron could provide feedback related to the prevention of terrorism and de-radicalization.
"They can hear from an inmate how he processed the acts of terror, so it can be related to the government's efforts to anticipate terror," he was quoted as saying by kompas.com.
While Imron was given a light sentence for cooperating with authorities, his older brothers Amrozi and Muklas -- members of Jemaah Islamiyah, al-Qaeda’s Southeast Asia affiliate -- were executed in 2008 over their roles in the 2002 attacks.
Since the January attacks that killed eight people -- including four Daesh-linked assailants -- Indonesia has been clamping down on terrorist groups across the archipelago, detaining dozens of suspects on terror charges.
One such suspect -- held on suspicion of involvement with Jemaah Islamiyah arms factories -- was arrested March 8, but died after a reported scuffle with members of the counter-terrorism squad -- Detachment 88 -- a day later.
While Indonesia's human rights commission subsequently called for an inquiry into his death, national police told reporters in April that the man was suspected of being a leader of a new offshoot of Jemaah Islamiyah.
In a statement released in March, human rights watchdog International Commission of Jurists raised concerns about amendments to Indonesia's anti-terror laws, saying they would "authorize unnecessarily prolonged detention of suspects, putting them at risk of torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, and arbitrary detention".