By Mohd Nasir Yusoff, Bernama,
Bandung : Indonesian police have since Thursday rounded up 17 people from two locations in Bandung district on suspicion of involvement in the subversive Negara Islam Indonesia (NII) or Indonesian Islamic State movement, a police spokesman said.
West Java Police spokesman Senior Commissioner Dade Achmad was quoted by Antara news agency as saying that the suspects were arrested at the movement’s recruitment and initiation camps in two housing complexes — one in Parongpong sub-district, Bandung, and the other in Cimahi on the western outskirts of Bandung city.
The 17, who were residents of a number of West Java towns including Bogor, Sukabumi, Subang and Sumedang, are suspected of being members of the NII, which is believed to be plotting to overthrow the government, allow part of the country to fall into the hands of its enemies or secede from the Republic of Indonesia.
They had been questioned before as witnesses and released but this time they had been taken in as suspects after police conducted in-depth investigations, Achmad said.
The suspects would also be charged with sedition, for which they would be liable to a maximum jail sentence of seven years, and with embezzlement, he added.
During the arrests, the police confiscated three bicycles, four cars, and 13 motorcycles belonging to the movement’s members and leaders.
Until Saturday afternoon, the 17 suspects were still being questioned intensively, and there was a possibility the police could arrest more people, Achmad said.