Gunungsindur, Bogor/Jakarta (ANTARA) - Ex-terror convict Abu Bakar Baasyir left the Gunung Sindur Correctional Facilities in Bogor, West Java, after performing the dawn prayer at around 5:21 a.m. local time, Friday, following his official release declaration.

In a motorcade led by an ambulance, the vehicle carrying Abu Bakar Baasyir was the second out of five vehicles, in which none were police cars.

Before the group left the Gunung Sindur facilities, several vehicles, one of which was Abu Bakar Baasyir's family, entered one at a time into the prison area at midnight.

Abu Bakar Baasyir's son, Abdul Rahim Baasyir, stated that the family intentionally did not prepare a special reception for his arrival at his residence in Ngruki, Sukoharjo District, Central Java.

"We did not want a reception. Hence, we also do not want an amassing of people that later ended up causing harm to the crowd," Abdul Rahim Baasyir informed ANTARA in Bogor on Monday (Jan 4).

The West Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights announced the release of Abu Bakar Baasyir on Friday, January 8, 2021, from the Gunung Sindur Correctional Facilities, Bogor.

Head of the Office, Imam Suyudi, stated that Baasyir's release was confirmed in accordance with the procedure, as he had served a 15-year sentence, with a 55-month reduction from remission.

Baasyir, escorted by several personnel of the security forces, reportedly headed to his residences in Sukoharjo, Central Java, according to the Law and Human Rights Ministry.

Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Section of the Directorate General of Corrections, Rika Aprianti, noted in a statement that the former convict was escorted by the Counterterrorism Special Detachment 88 from the Police Headquarters and the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT).

"During the journey to his residence in Sukoharjo, apart from being accompanied by his family and a team of lawyers, ABB (Abu Bakar Baasyir) was also escorted by Densus 88 and BNPT," she noted.

Before his release, Baasyir was also subject to the administrative process and health protocols for the prevention and handling of COVID-19.

Aprianti confirmed that Baasyir received a negative result in the rapid antigen test conducted for COVID-19.
 

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