Younger brother of suspected Southeast Asian terror chief Hambali arrested in Pakistan

Younger brother of suspected Southeast Asian terror chief arrested in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- The younger brother of Hambali, al-Qaida's suspected point man for Southeast Asia, has been arrested on immigration charges in Pakistan along with several other people, a senior Pakistani Interior Ministry official said Monday.
The man, Rusman Gunawan, was one of 17 people from Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar arrested Saturday in raids on three Islamic schools in the Pakistani port city of Karachi, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The official is intimately involved in Pakistan's war on terror.
"Yes, we think he is the brother of Hambali," said the official. "We are convinced."
Hambali, whose real name is Riduan Isamuddin, was Southeast Asia's most wanted man until he was arrested Aug. 11 in Thailand by Thai police and the CIA. U.S. authorities then flew him to an undisclosed location. Many Indonesians only use their given name, so family members often don't share a surname.
Southeast Asian security officials accuse Hambali of planning last year's Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people, and the Aug. 5 bombing of a hotel in Jakarta, in which 12 died.
The Interior Ministry official said it was not yet clear whether Gunawan has committed any crimes in Pakistan, other than the immigration violation.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved

In the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, police said they also had no evidence of wrongdoing against Gunawan and would not seek his extradition, said Zainuri Lubis, a police spokesman.
The Indonesian Department of Foreign Affairs has yet to receive any official confirmation whether the Pakistani police arrested Rusman Gunawan. If he has been arrested on a violation according to the Pakistani law, then it is up to them to prosecute him.
The Indonesian police have not put him on a wanted list. He has no criminal record in Indonesia.
SCTV reported that Rusman Gunawan is the 8th child. In 1999, he left to study at Karachi's Abu Bakar University on a scholarship given by the Pakistani government. He passed the test which was to memorize the Quran, said his brother Dani.
Before that, he sold vegetables at Sukabumi market.
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An Indonesian-based terrorism expert who spoke to the AP, also on condition of anonymity, said Gunawan was believed to be in charge of Jemaah Islamiyah's Pakistan branch, and is believed to have arranged trips for Hambali to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Most of the other people arrested in Karachi were students who had overstayed their visas.
Officials said they planned to question them and then deport them if they did not find them guilty of any other crimes.
It was not clear what authorities planned to do with Gunawan, or whether he is wanted by the United States. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad.

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