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Indonesia dusts off 1920s law to tackle Islamic State

JAKARTA — The first Indonesian to stand trial for joining Islamic State says he signed up with the group in Syria and underwent two weeks of military training with its fighters.

JAKARTA — The first Indonesian to stand trial for joining Islamic State says he signed up with the group in Syria and underwent two weeks of military training with its fighters.

Despite his remarks, 63-year-old father of four Afief Abdul Madjid may be a tricky case for the prosecution. The only law he could be charged under dates back more than 90 years to the Dutch era and has not been used since independence in 1945.

“I haven’t committed a crime,” Madjid said as he left the Central Jakarta District Court in March. “God willing, Islamic State will win. They are working for Allah.” Madjid’s lawyer, Mr Ahmad Midan, said his client is innocent.

Madjid’s trial reflects the challenge for Indonesia’s legal system and President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in tackling extremism. Faced with the need to address his falling popularity, a slowing economy, weaker markets and internal power squabbles, the risk is Mr Widodo fails to move quickly to head off rising militancy in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.

The emergence of Islamic State threatens to re-energise violent militant networks across South-east Asia, especially in Indonesia, the region’s largest economy. Between 200 and 500 Indonesians are believed to have joined the group in the Middle East, giving them new skills they could use if they return. “It’s still not a priority for them, but it’s clearly a threat, if not now then later,” said Mr Adhe Bhakti, director of the Center for the Study of Radicalism and Deradicalisation, speaking of the Jokowi administration.

The first Indonesian militants began leaving for Syria and Iraq in 2013. Despite calls by the police and anti-terrorism agency, the government has not sought to tighten existing laws or pass new ones to better prosecute returnees.

Indonesia’s anti-terrorism laws only apply to domestic activities. As a result, Madjid is being tried for “rebellion against a friendly state”. A verdict is expected around July or August.

The law was introduced by the then-Dutch rulers in 1921 to target people agitating against its allies in Europe, said Dr Adriaan Bedner, a lecturer in Indonesian law at Leiden University. It remained on the books after independence and hadn’t been used until Madjid went on trial in February, said Mr Eddy Hiariej, an Indonesian professor of criminal law who advised the police on the statute.

Madjid spent 13 months in prison from 1981 on suspicion of involvement with militancy. In 2013, he was designated by the United States Treasury as a leader of extremist group Jemmah Anshorut Tauhid.

He said he went to Syria to see “with his own eyes what was going on” and joined the training because not doing so could have aroused suspicion he was a spy.

At the hearing, prosecutors called a foreign ministry official as a witness to explain to judges that Syria and Indonesia had long had close ties, making it a “friendly state”.

“It’s a creative solution to a difficult problem,” said Ms Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict. “It is going to be interesting to see whether the judges are willing to buy it. I’m sure there are going to be questions raised about how you know they are actually involved in rebellion.”

Securing political support for new laws to target Islamic State followers is not easy because they could be portrayed as stigmatising Islam, said Mr Bhakti. “Making laws that have associations with Islam is problematic.”

Malaysia, who like Indonesia is also threatened by the Islamic State, passed a controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act Bill last month, giving the police sweeping powers to arrest and detain those suspected of terrorist activities. BLOOMBERG

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