Seven Jailed in Indonesia for Supporting ’ISIS’

Local Editor

An Indonesian court Tuesday handed down prison terms to seven men accused of supporting "ISIS" terrorist group amid a security crackdown on the militant group's suspected sympathizers in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.

The country has been on high alert since a bomb and gun attack in the capital Jakarta last month claimed by "ISIS" stamped the group's presence in the region for the first time. Eight people were killed, four of which were the attackers themselves.

Meanwhile, the government is reviewing its anti-terrorism laws in the hope of containing the spread of radicalism and keeping Indonesian citizens from joining militant organizations. Officials said they were considering measures to lengthen prison terms and to allow suspected militants to be temporarily detained for up to 14 days without charge.

In the past two months, anti-terrorism police arrested around 50 people suspected of having links to planned attacks including last month's assault in Jakarta.

Indonesia has been largely successful in stamping out home-grown militancy since the Bali bombing of 2002 that killed more than 200 people, mostly Australians.

Last month's attack was the first militant act to hit Indonesia since 2009, when a car bomb at two foreign-owned hotels killed seven people and injured dozens.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team