Indonesians jailed for harbouring Uygurs, cleared of rocket plot on Singapore
The group’s leader was jailed for four years while the five others were each given a three-year jail term
Six Indonesian militants were jailed on Wednesday for harbouring two Uygurs who entered the country to fight with extremists linked to Islamic State (IS), but were cleared of plotting to fire a rocket at Singapore.
The militants were detained last year after authorities foiled the alleged IS-linked plot to shoot a rocket at an upmarket waterfront district of Singapore from the nearby Indonesian island of Batam. This charge was not proven in court.
Instead, the extremists were convicted of harbouring the Uygurs – members of a mostly Muslim Chinese minority who complain of persecution in their homeland of Xinjiang – on Batam and hiding information about them.
Gigih Rahmat Dewa, the group’s leader, was jailed for four years while the five others were each given a three-year jail term.
“The defendants have acted in an organised way and have deliberately aided terrorists,” presiding Judge Tarigan Muda Limbong told the West Jakarta District Court.
