Densus 88 Chief: We Want to Treat Terrorists as Victims
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21 March 2022 20:03 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Police's anti-terror detachment or Densus 88 Chief Insp. Gen. Marthinus Hukom said he wanted to take a more lenient approach to terrorists. He viewed that terrorists are not only perpetrators of acts of violence but also victims.
“On how to treat them as victims. We want to change their mindset,” said Marthinus after a meeting with the Legal Commission of the House of Representatives (DPR) at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, Monday, March 21.
He said terrorists committed violence because of the sole doctrine they received. Thus, Densus 88 and the National Counterterrorism Agency are determined to intervene in this thought by involving religious leaders who are expected to provide another perspective for them.
“We often collaborate with NU (Nahdlatul Ulama) and Muhammadiyah (the country’s two largest Islamic organizations),” he added.
Marthinus said his side is presently providing guidance to 120 members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group network. They are left free while being guided. “That's our current paradigm,” he said.
According to Marthinus, Densus 88 has arrested 658 terrorists in the last two years. The massive arrests, he added, have dropped the incidence of terrorism in the archipelago.
Read: Densus 88 Arrests 12 Terorrist Suspects in Four Cities
M ROSSENO AJI
