A crack counterterrorist unit (Densus) with the National Police arrested a 40-year-old man in Cilacap regency, Central Java, on Sunday for alleged involvement in terrorist activities in Indonesia. Banyumas Police chief Sr. Comr. M. Ghufron said Saefudin, a resident from Danasri Lor village in Nusawungu subdistrict, Cilacap, had been arrested. Saefudin is suspected of having links to terrorist groups, but whether or not he is connected with Malaysian bomb expert Nordin M. Top, the alleged mastermind of a string of terror attacks across Indonesia, remains unclear. "I have received a report on the arrest of Saefudin. He is suspected of having a link with a terrorist network. But which network exactly, the counterterrorist unit knows better," Ghufron told The Jakarta Post. He said the arrest, which involved 10 members of the counterterrorist unit, was prepared and executed almost entirely by the unit. Saefudin has been identified as a teacher of the Koran. "I think Densus had a clear reason why he *Saefudin* was arrested. It's impossible that Densus would have made a hasty decision," Ghufron said. The suspect was captured as he headed home on his motorcycle after teaching students at a friend's property. The counterterrorism unit arrived in several vehicles, and conducted an armed raid on the house. They confiscated a number of books, Ghufron said, but would not specify any further details. "Densus reported the arrest to the local neighborhood and village heads," Ghufron said. According to information obtained from local police who interviewed villagers, Saefudin was a "silent man" who was "introverted" with his neighbors. Many in his village knew him as an Islamic teacher but knew little of his daily routine, adding he spent several days at a time outside the town. "He was reportedly studying at a university in Jakarta, where he preached often," Ghufron said. Saefudin is not the first terrorist suspect to be arrested in Central Java. In January 2006, Densus arrested several people with links to terrorism across the province, including terrorist leader Subur Sugiarto, alias Abu Mujahid. Subur, from the Kaliwungu Indah housing complex in Kendal, Central Java, was arrested while waiting to board a bus to Jakarta. Following a search of his home, counterterrorist officers found ammunition and a terrorist handbook. His followers were later rounded up in Semarang and Karanganyar. In November 2006 the Semarang District Court sentenced Subur to life in prison, even though prosecutors sought the death penalty for his crimes. His accomplice Ardi Wibowo received six years for assisting Noordin M. Top evade capture in the province in 2005. The court ruled that Subur hid Noordin from the authorities in his home. He was found guilty for that crime and for the illegal possession of weapons and explosives. Noordin, along with fellow Malaysian Azahari Husin, who was killed in a police raid in November 2005, is believed to be a key member of Jamaah Islamiyah extremist network, which has links to al-Qaeda.
Author: Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post
Author: Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post
