Indonesia deports Sri Lankan terrorism expert over visa misuse

Indonesia on Friday deported a Singapore-based terrorism expert for allegedly conducting research in Ambon while holding a tourist visa, the website of Jakarta Post quoted a police source as saying.

Rohan Gunaratna, a Sri Lankan and author of the book "Inside Al Qaida: Global Network of Terror," was arrested on Sept. 2 in Ambon, said national police Detective Chief Makbul Padmanegara.

"He was using a tourist visa but at the same time doing research. He was deported this morning," Makbul told reporters in Jakarta.

He arrived in Jakarta by plane on Friday morning and was told by the police to leave the country upon arriving in the capital, said Tony Hukom, chief of the Maluku Immigration Office.

"We stamped on his passport that he has to go," he said.

Maluku Police Chief Adityawarman said that Gunaratna was conducting research on terrorism on a tourist visa in violation of immigration regulations.

Gunaratna, an associate professor at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore, said that he was detained and questioned by police in the city of Ambon, but denied that he had been ordered to leave the country.

"I was invited for questioning by the Indonesian authorities," he said by telephone from the Ambon Airport before boarding his flight.

"They had no problems with me continuing my research, but I had already completed most of the work," he added.

Meanwhile, he insisted that he had no immediate plans to leave the country, and would attend several meetings in Jakarta.

Source: Xinhua