Malaysia arrested three suspected militants believed to have ties with a radical cleric in Indonesia who was charged this week with helping plan terrorist attacks, officials and a news report said Thursday.
The two Malaysians and an Indonesian were detained Wednesday for suspected involvement in activities that could jeopardize national security and for alleged links with foreign militants, national police chief Musa Hasan said in a statement.
Police identified the Malaysians as Sheikh Abdullah Sheikh Junaid, a 70-year-old businessman, and contractor Samsul Hamidi, 34, while the Indonesian was listed as Mustawan Ahbab, a 34-year-old marketing executive. They were arrested separately on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur and eastern Pahang state.
Authorities were holding them under the Internal Security Act, which allows for indefinite detention without trial.
The Star newspaper, quoting unidentified intelligence sources, said the three are believed to be linked to Indonesia’s best-known radical cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir.
Bashir was arrested in the world’s most populous Muslim nation this week for allegedly setting up a terror cell and militant training camp in Indonesia’s Aceh province that was plotting high-profile assassinations and bloody attacks on foreigners in Jakarta.
Malaysian police officials could not immediately be reached to confirm The Star’s report.
Malaysian human rights groups that have long campaigned against the Internal Security Act criticized the arrests, saying the three detainees were at “risk of torture and other ill-treatment.” Activists said the detainees should either be charged in court or released.
Over the past decade, Malaysian authorities have detained more than 100 Islamic militant suspects without trial. Most were released in stages after officials said they had renounced extremist beliefs.
