The website contains messages of support and articles in Indonesian and English with titles such as “Messages from Ustadz Abu Bakar Ba’asyir from Prison” and “Ustadz Abu Jibril Promises Ba’asyir Release after Idul Fitri”.
Firebrand Muslim cleric Ba’asyir, who had been connected to the Bali bombings, was recently arrested by the National Police’s Detachment 88 antiterror squad in Banjar, West Java, for allegedly funding a terrorist military camp in Aceh.
According to National Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi, his office sent an official letter requesting the information ministry block the website.
“We sent the request because the website is provocative in nature,” he said, adding that the decision
to block the site rests with the ministry.
One article containing Ba’asyir’s message from prison, called on Muslims to stay firm in their struggle which was “changing the country so it succumbs to Islamic law because it is haram [against Islam] for Muslims to live in a country that is not Islamic”.
“We are simply coordinating the [website] block, which we have authority over,” Ito told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Ministry spokesman Gatot S. Dewabroto told the Post that he was unaware of any letter being sent by the police to the ministry or if it had been sent directly to the ministry’s heads.
He added the ministry needed a request letter from the public or institution as part of the procedure in ordering Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to effect a block.
“This is because it is a quite a sensitive area. We are not the censorship board,” he said, adding that the request would be granted as long as it had a strong legal basis and arguments supporting the block.
“The instruction from those requesting a block can’t be based on simple likes or dislikes,” he said.
The legal basis for blocking websites, he added, was in the 2008 Information and Electronic Transaction Law, which prohibited websites from posting messages containing racially vilifying, violent or pornographic material.
Besides the pro-Ba’asyir site, hackers infiltrated Panin Sekuritas’ website on Monday morning and posted messages calling for the release of Ba’asyir and Muhamad Jibril, as reported by detik.com.
National Police head of public relations Sr. Comr. Marwoto Soeto told the Post that the hackers’ messages had been removed.
Gatot said websites in Indonesia were already “quite safe” but this did not eliminate the possibility of hacking.
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Iskandar Hasan said he had not heard any word on the ban request but promised to check up on the matter with the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim).
“There has been no request up to this point,” he said on Monday, adding the request would be sent if the website interfered with the detectives’ ongoing investigations into Ba’asyir.
“I think it’s possible [to send a request] if we wanted, but let’s look at the urgency regarding whether
the site harms our investigations,” he said. “If it doesn’t cause harm, let it be it.”
He added that it would be the ministry’s right to block the website based on whether messages on the site were offensive.
Besides the web site, a “Free Baasyir” Facebook page voicing support and demanding the release of Ba’asyir has appeared. As many as 225 people have “liked” an article directing other users of the social networking site to Ba’asyir’s supporters’ website. (gzl)
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/24/police-move-block-site-supporting-ba%E2%80%99asyir.html