In his first public comments since being arrested more than two years ago, an Indonesian preacher denied being a leader of a Southeast Asia militant group linked to al-Qaida and accused authorities of mistreating him. The arrest of Mohammad Iqbal Abdul Rahman in July 2001 was among the first by authorities in several Southeast Asian countries that exposed the militant group, Jemaah Islamiyah, along with an alleged plot to blow up the U.S. Embassy and other targets in neighboring Singapore. Iqbal, however, said police had failed to produce any evidence to back claims that he is linked to the group and called his 27-month detention without trial unjust. In rare comments from one of more than 70 Islamic militant suspects jailed in Malaysia under a tough security law, Iqbal described being arrested while at prayers in 2001, subjected to three weeks of interrogation at police headquarters and being denied access to a doctor and proper food and medication. Full Story
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