SYDNEY - Indonesian prisons often act as incubators of terrorism and fail to eradicate violent jihadist beliefs, a study said Thursday, warning of a growing threat of "terrorist" freelance
The conclusions of "Jihadists in prison", a research project of the year by the Australian strategic policy Institute, is based on interviews with 33 recognized men convicted on charges of terrorism unprecedented by Indonesian courts.
They spoke in four prisons in Jakarta, Solo, Surabaya and Semarang and the included study former senior members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror network and other associated groups such as KOMPAK and ring of Banten.
Author of the report, intelligence analyst former Australian Government Dr. Carl Ungerer, says broadcaster ABC, a group of hardcore jihadists prepare from Indonesian prisons over the next 18 months.
Some of them said that they would be bombing Western targets on their release.
"Several of the men we interviewed hold this point of view." One of them told us directly that if he was released from prison today, he would bomb the US Embassy tomorrow, "he says.
Over the last decade, nearly 600 people were arrested on charges of terrorism in Indonesia, said the report. Many have been set free and not re-offended, but others have.
"Recidivism is a sincere concern," said the report, adding that it was questionable if Jakarta has learned to keep dangerous extremists.
"Not only poses the radicalization more terrorists sentenced to prison, but the potential radicalization of the prison population and the prison staff is a problem, he said."
The report made to terror condemns often be placed in the same prison block and be allowed to mingle freely.
"This has contributed to expand their personal networks with the activist circle," he said.
"The men said that they had the opportunity to meet people that they would not otherwise have met by small cell structures and the high level of secrecy surrounding their activities."
"These interactions allowed many of them to better understand their specific roles in the Organization and the broader structure of terrorist organizations."
In the Cipinang prison in Jakarta, interviewees said terrorist convicts working for the "shadow government" shape to run the prisons, with their reputation as fearless fighters win their respect.
"They use the time (in prison) to reflect on their past activities to find ways to better perform their duties in jihad," he said.
Of the main concerns are the use of the mosques in prison, which he said places jihadists were used to preach their Gospel and attract new members.
Ungerer added that the men surveyed said that they need more support from a great terror as the deceased Jemaah Islamiyah organisation, which has orchestrated the Bali bombing in 2002 which killed more than 200 people.
A growing number are now freelance terrorist, ready to try smaller, more random attacks.
"We are is more dealing with organizations or organizational hubs, we are dealing with people, some call their lone wolves, some call freelancers," said Ungerer, who made research on Indonesian Islamic terrorism since almost a decade.
"This means that the threat goes no further, if any, that it is getting worse," he told ABC.
The Institute is an independent, non-partisan who was created by Canberra to "defence and inform the public on strategic issues". "."
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