Dozens of supporters of a hardline Indonesian Muslim cleric snatched him from prosecutors and spirited him away shortly before he was due to be taken to jail, reports said.
Dozens of white-clad members of the Front for the Defenders of Islam (FPI) stormed into the poorly guarded lobby of the prosecutors' office and grabbed Habib Mohammed Rizieq Shihab from officials about to take him to Salemba state jail. Shihab is due to face trial over a series of attacks by his followers on Jakarta nightspots and bars.
Police earlier Monday had transferred Shihab from their headquarters to the prosecutors' office to hand him over in preparation for his trial. But at the office some 50 noisy supporters grabbed their leader and commandeered a passing public minibus to take them to FPI headquarters, SCTV television showed.
Police and officials were powerless to prevent the incident, the television said. "It was beyond our expectations ... this is a spontaneous incident," FPI secretary general Ahmad Sobri Lubis told the television shortly afterwards.
He said the supporters "were hysterical and showed signs of preparedness to fight. We [FPI leaders] deemed that it would be unwise to resist their efforts at that moment." Lubis said Shihab was currently resting at FPI headquarters and would surrender himself later after supporters calmed down.
Shihab, who left the country earlier this month for what his lawyers called a "humanitarian mission" to Iraq, was met by police when he flew home Sunday night. Local media said he arrived from Jordan but it was not clear if he had entered Iraq. He was kept at police headquarters overnight in preparation for the handover to prosecutors.
Shihab has been declared a suspect in inciting violence, expressing enmity against the government, destroying private property and attacks on individuals. The charges can carry up to seven years in jail.
He had been detained under city arrest since late last year as part of a crackdown on Islamic hardliners following the Bali bombings last October 12. Shihab is not suspected of any role in the bombings but is accused of instigating violence during a series of raids in which FPI members smashed up pool halls and bars in Jakarta.
After the US-led attacks on Iraq began, the FPI launched a drive to sign up volunteers to fight alongside the Iraqis. It was not clear if anyone actually left the country.
Shihab was held in detention for three weeks following his arrest last October 16. After he was conditionally freed pending trial, his lawyer said the FPI would halt its attacks on nightspots.