REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Imprisoned terrorism convict Abu Bakar Ba'asyir has handed over a flag and T-shirts bearing an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) symbol to prison officials.
"Abu Bakar Ba'asyir made this gesture to prove he has no relationship with ISIS. As a member of the Team of Moslems' Lawyers (TPM), I witnessed the submission," Hasyim Abdullah told reporters at the Wijayapura Pier, used for cross into the maximum security prison on the island of Nusakambangan, off Cilacap, Central Java, on Thursday.
Hasyim made the statement after accompanying members of Ba'asyir's family on a visit with the terrorism convict, who is being held at the Pasir Putih correctional institution on Nusakambangan Island.
He said Abu Bakar Ba'asyir had submitted one ISIS flag and 10 T-shirts with the ISIS logo on them. He noted that Ba'asyir had also ordered the collection of all items bearing ISIS symbols to be submitted to prison officials.
"Actually, the T-shirts have been there for a long time, even before the emergence of "Daulah Khilafah Islamiyah" (Islamic Caliphate State). Therefore, he (Ba'asyir) said, 'To show that ISIS does not exist here, I submitted them,'" Hasyim stated.
Hasyim also claimed that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and a number of other terrorism convicts in the prison had not sworn allegiance to ISIS but to "Daulah Khilafah Islamiyah." According to Ba'asyir, ISIS no longer exists, but it still remains as an organization, Hasyim explained.
"He (Ba'asyir) admitted that he and some fellow prisoners (at Pasir Putih) have expressed allegiance, not to ISIS but to 'Khilafah,'" he added.
Hasyim said that Ba'asyir did not know that pictures of him and fellow prisoners swearing allegiance had been uploaded on social media and could not remember who had taken the pictures.
"It is true that he is in the pictures, but it was taken a long time ago. He did not know who took the picture and uploaded it on the Internet. Once again, he said that ISIS is no longer in existence. What exists is a caliphate, and so, he asked why people are making a fuss about it now," Hasyim stated.
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