Jakarta – Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly has defended the move to grant sentence reductions to a number of convicted terrorists, saying the decision was made after a thorough review that found the convicts had repented for their wrongdoings while serving time.

"We are working with the National Counterterrorism Agency [BNPT] to evaluate proportionally whether to grant these convicts sentence cuts," Yasonna said on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.

Aman Abdurrahman, a radical cleric and well-known supporter of the Islamic State (IS) movement, was among dozens of convicted terrorists to receive remissions during Independence Day last week.

With the remission, Aman secured an early release. However, he was immediately re-arrested by the National Police for his suspected role in the deadly Thamrin terror attack in Jakarta last year. The police believe Aman may have orchestrated the attack from behind bars, though he has yet to be named a suspect in the case.

The ministry's decision to grant Aman a sentence cut sparked fresh concerns over its leniency in granting sentence cuts to terror convicts in the country that has long fought terrorism but continues to face terror attacks. (kuk/ipa)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/08/28/minister-defends-remissions-for-terror-convicts.html