Jakarta accepting that key Bali bombing suspect is Indonesian marks a reversal

Southeast Asian nation is considering seeking repatriation of Hambali – detained at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay since 2006 – whose case remains resolved.
Pizaro Gozali Idrus
2025.01.22
Jakarta
Jakarta accepting that key Bali bombing suspect is Indonesian marks a reversal People attend a memorial event marking the 20th anniversary of the 2002 Bali terror attacks at the Bali Bombing Memorial Monument in Badung, Bali, Indonesia, Oct. 12, 2022.
[Nova Wahyudi/Antara Foto/via Reuters]

Indonesia’s new government is considering seeking a key Bali bombing suspect’s return from Guantanamo Bay because, its law minister said, Jakarta is as concerned about its citizens imprisoned abroad as it is in repatriating some foreign convicts.

Jakarta’s acknowledgement that Hambali, the suspect in custody at the U.S. military base in Cuba, is Indonesian marks a reversal. Analysts say the change may be linked to his militant group Jemaah Islamiyah disbanding or President Prabowo Subianto’s historical concern for the rights of citizens abroad.

The reason given by Yusril Ihza Mahendra, Indonesia’s law minister, referred to Jakarta’s repatriation last month of a Filipina and five Australian drug convicts.

“Our primary concern is ensuring the protection and legal assistance for all Indonesian nationals abroad, regardless of their actions,” Yusril told reporters in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“This demonstrates to the public that the government is not only concerned with foreign prisoners in Indonesia but also cares for Indonesian citizens detained abroad,” he had told reporters last week, state news agency Antara reported.

BenarNews contacted Yusril’s office, which confirmed his comments to the media.

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Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, is seen in this undated photo provided by the Federal Public Defenders Office, at the U.S. base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. [Federal Public Defender's Office via AP]

Hambali, whose real name is Encep Nurjaman, has been detained without trial for 18 years at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, with his case still unresolved.

The three bombs that targeted Bali nightclubs on Oct. 12, 2002, killed 202 people. The attacks were blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a Southeast Asian militant network linked to al-Qaeda – Hambali was a senior leader. 

Now 60 years old, Hambali was first arraigned before a U.S. military judge only in 2021. Another pre-trial hearing in the case is scheduled next week, from Jan. 27 until Jan. 31.

The latest developments in Indonesia related to the Hambali case follow the quiet repatriation last month of two Malaysian accomplices in the 2002 Bali bombings.

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Demonstrators calling for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility gather in front of the White House in Washington, April 2, 2022. [Stefani Reynolds/AFP]

Yusril said that recent efforts through the previous Indonesian government to establish communication with Hambali through the Foreign Ministry had failed. 

“We also asked the United States to expedite his trial, but that has not happened. In earlier discussions, repatriation for trial in Indonesia was considered,” Yusril said. 

Sidney Jones, senior advisor at the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, said that bringing Hambali back home was “the right thing to do.”

“Nothing justifies the treatment Hambali has endured, including reported torture and indefinite detention,” Jones told BenarNews. 

“If he had been tried in Indonesia after his 2003 arrest, he might have received a life sentence.”

The country’s counterterrorism unit, Detachment 88, though, is capable of monitoring him effectively, Jones said. 

A spokesman for the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) declined to comment about why the government had reversed its position on Hambali.

As recently as 2021, the government denied that Hambali was an Indonesian citizen, citing his ownership of a foreign passport, and rejected any consideration of bringing him back. 

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Rusman Gunawan alias Gun Gun (left), younger brother of key Bali bombing suspect Hambali (Encep Nurjaman), accused of helping to provide or gather funds for the August 2003 bomb attacks on the JW Marriott hotel, is seen with his then-lawyer Abdul Khalik during his trial in Jakarta, Oct. 26, 2004. Rusman was convicted and released in 2006 for good behavior. [Adek Berry/AFP]

Guantanamo Bay, a facility criticized globally for holding suspects indefinitely without trial, has long been a symbol of the post-9/11 war on terror, noted Al Chaidar, a terrorism analyst from Malikussaleh University in Lhokseumawe. 

“This is the United States’ greatest failure – claiming to uphold democracy but disregarding the rule of law,” he said. 

“Hambali has been detained for more than 20 years without resolution.”

Adlini Ilma Ghaisany Sjah, a terrorism researcher at Nanyang Technological University, told BenarNews “it’s possible” that this Indonesian government’s shift is related to the end of JI.

“The Indonesian police have also announced plans to repatriate 16 former JI members from Syria and 10 from the Philippines, which could indicate a broader shift in policy,” said Adlini, from the Singapore university’s Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.

Besides, Prabowo has in the past championed the rights of Indonesian nationals abroad.

For instance, Prabowo himself advocated for the eventually successful return in 2021 of an Indonesian domestic worker on death row in Malaysia.


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It is possible that if Jakarta requested Hambali’s repatriation, it may face resistance from the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump, Ian Wilson from Murdoch University in Australia told BenarNews. 

“Considering Trump’s support for keeping the Guantanamo internment camp in operation, it would seem unlikely he’d be receptive to the idea of repatriation,” said Wilson, a lecturer in politics and security studies.

“[That is] unless it was part of a deal seen as having clear benefits for his administration.”

Wilson was referring to Trump’s earlier term as president, when he signed an executive order in 2018 to keep Guantanamo open. 

Meanwhile, one of Hambali’s younger brothers, Kankan Abdulkodir, told BenarNews that he had heard of talk regarding the potential repatriation and expressed hope for the best.

Kankan said the family last spoke to Hambali via video call last December, during which he told them he was in good health, but they were not allowed to discuss his legal case. 

“If it is his fate to be released, then I hope it will happen,” Kankan said. 

“But if he has to stay at Guantanamo Bay, then so be it.”

Aisyah Llewellyn in Medan, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

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