Indonesia court sentences cleric behind attacks to death

Radical cleric Aman Abdurrahman was sentenced to death by an Indonesian court Friday for ordering Islamic State group-affiliated militants to carry out attacks including the January 2016 suicide bombing at a Starbucks in Jakarta.

Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman, right, is escorted by police officers upon arrival for his trial at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, June 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Abdurrahman, who police and prosecutors say is a key ideologue for IS militants in the world's largest Muslim nation, kneeled and kissed the floor as the panel of five judges announced the sentence while counterterrorism officers guarding him uttered "praise be to God."

Several hundred paramilitary and counterterrorism police secured the Jakarta court where the trial took place. Fears of attacks have been elevated in Indonesia after suicide bombings in the country's second-largest city, Surabaya, last month that were carried out by families including their young children. Police say the leader of those bombers was part of the network of militants inspired by Abdurrahman.

Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman, center, is escorted by police officers upon arrival for his trial at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, June 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

During the trial, prosecutors said Abdurrahman's instructions from prison, where he was serving a terrorism-related sentence, resulted in several attacks in Indonesia in 2016 and 2017.

They included the Starbucks attack in the capital that killed four civilians and four militants, an attack on a bus terminal in Jakarta that killed three police officers and an attack on a church in Kalimantan that killed a 2-year-old girl. Several other children suffered serious burns from the Kalimantan attack.

Radical Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman sits at the courtroom for his sentencing hearing at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, June 22, 2018.(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

The defendant's "speeches, teachings and instructions have inspired his group and followers to commit criminal acts of terrorism in Indonesia," said presiding Judge Ahmad Zaini.

The court said there was no reason for leniency. It gave defense lawyers seven days to consider lodging an appeal.

Abdurrahman has refused to recognize the authority of the court, part of his rejection of secular government in Indonesia and desire to replace it with Shariah law.

Indonesian police stand guard outside a court room during sentence hearing for radical Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, June 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Adhe Bhakti, an analyst at the Center for Radicalization and De-radicalization Studies in Jakarta, said it's possible militants could respond to Abdurrahman's death sentence with reprisal plots.

"His words alone have been able to incite followers to carry out terrorism," he said. "The security forces must raise awareness and all intelligence services in Indonesia must coordinate well."

Radical Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman reacts after his sentence hearing at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, June 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Indonesia's deadliest attack was in 2002 on the tourist island of Bali when nightclub bombings carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah militants killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.

In the following decade, Indonesian security forces crushed the Al-Qaeda linked JI network, killing leaders and bomb makers and arresting hundreds of militants. But a new threat has emerged in the past several years from IS sympathizers including Indonesians who traveled to the Middle East to fight with IS. According to Bhatki, there were seven IS attacks and three foiled plots in Indonesia in 2017 compared with no attacks in 2015.

(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

According to prosecutors, Abdurrahman founded Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, a network of extremists that pledged allegiance to IS and was opposed to Indonesia's secular government.

Reflecting a dire lack of supervision of militants in Indonesia's overcrowded prisons, Abdurrahman was able to spread radicalism and communicate with his supporters on the outside through visitors and video calls, they say.

(AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

Radical Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman, center, is escorted by police officers after his sentence hearing at South Jakarta District Court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, June 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

The suicide bombings in Surabaya last month killed 26 people, including 13 attackers. Two families carried out the attacks, using children as young as 7.

Abdurrahman was sentenced to prison in 2004 after a bomb he made prematurely exploded at a house in West Java, and again in 2011 for his role in helping set up a jihadi training camp in a mountainous area of Aceh province.

MANADO, Indonesia (AP) — More people living near an erupting volcano on Indonesia's Sulawesi Island were evacuated on Friday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami.

An international airport in Manado city, which is located less than 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the erupting Mount Ruang, is still temporarily closed as volcanic ash was spewed into the air.

Satellite imagery from the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency showed that the ash has spread to the west, northwest, northeast and southeast, covering Manado and North Minahasa, according to a statement from Indonesia’s Transportation Ministry.

“We are still monitoring developments in the eruption of Mount Ruang and coordinating with relevant stakeholders ... to anticipate the necessary actions to ensure flight safety, security and comfort,” said Ambar Suryoko, head of the regional airport authority.

More than 11,000 people were told to leave their homes and at least 1,000 have done so. A joint team from the local authorities is still combing the villages surrounding the volcano and evacuating the residents to safer areas by boat.

Officials worry that part of the volcano could collapse into the sea and cause a tsunami, as happened in an eruption there in 1871 eruption.

Houses, roads and other buildings in the affected areas were covered by gray volcanic ash. Many house roofs were also broken by the materials spewed from the eruption.

Mount Ruang saw at least five large eruptions Wednesday, causing the Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation to issue its highest level of alert. People were ordered to stay at least 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) from the 725-meter (2,378-foot) mountain.

The observation from the agency on Friday said that white smoke is rising from the main crater with medium to thick intensity.

Tagulandang Island, east of the volcano, could be at risk if a collapse occurred. Its residents were among those being told to evacuate. Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency said residents will be relocated to Manado, a journey of six hours by boat.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, has 120 active volcanoes. It is prone to volcanic activity because it sits along the “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

In this photo released by Sitaro Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD Sitaro), hot molten lava glows at the crater of Mount Ruang as it erupts in Sanguine Islands, Indonesia, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami alert Wednesday after eruptions at Ruang mountain sent ash thousands of feet high. Officials ordered more than 11,000 people to leave the area. (BPBD Sitaro via AP)

Mount Ruang volcano is seen during the eruption from Tagulandang island, Indonesia, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Indonesian authorities closed an airport and residents left homes near an erupting volcano Thursday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami. (AP Photo/ Hendra Ambalao)

In this photo provided by the Indonesian Transportation Ministry, people inquire about their flight change at the closed Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, April 19, 2024. Indonesian authorities closed the airport and residents left homes near an erupting volcano Thursday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami. (Indonesian Transportation Ministry via AP)

This photo provided by the Indonesian Transportation Ministry shows the closed Sam Ratulangi Airport in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, April 19, 2024. Indonesian authorities closed the airport and residents left homes near an erupting volcano Thursday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami. (Indonesian Transportation Ministry via AP)

Mount Ruang volcano is seen during the eruption from Tagulandang island, Indonesia, Thursday, April 18, 2024. Indonesian authorities closed an airport and residents left homes near an erupting volcano Thursday due to the dangers of spreading ash, falling rocks, hot volcanic clouds and the possibility of a tsunami. (AP Photo/ Hendra Ambalao)