Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government will investigate 12 of the 16 Indonesians detained in Turkey to find what motivated them to visit Syria illegally, according to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

"It depends on what they have done. If they did wrong, so be it. If they didnt, so be it. Indonesians stranded not only in Turkey but in other parts of the world as well must be repatriated," Kalla said at the Vice Presidential Palace here on Thursday.

Head of the National Polices Public Relations Division Senior Commissioner Rikwanto noted on Thursday that the 12 Indonesians would be repatriated to undergo a "de-radicalism" program.

"Shortly after they return home, they will join a de-radicalism program," he affirmed at the Indonesian Police Headquarters.

This de-radicalism program was created by the National Counterterrorism Agency in collaboration with regional governments and ulemas.

It is aimed at preventing Indonesian citizens from joining the radical group that is trying to form an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

"Those who were going to join the ISIS will be identified. Not all of them will be detained. Had it been their own plan to join the group? Or had they been brainwashed to do so? Did they simply follow their family? We will study their role and the extent to which they were involved with the ISIS," Rikwanto remarked.

On March 12, Turkish security agencies nabbed 16 Indonesians while they were attempting to cross into Syria.

The group of 16 people detained includes one man, four women, three girls, and eight boys. They are currently being held in a detention center in Gaziantep city.

A team of officers from the police anti-terrorism squad Densus 88, the National Counterterrorism Agency, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, and the State Intelligence Body has left for Turkey to investigate what motivated the 16 Indonesians to make the trip.

(S012/INE)
Reported by Fransiska Ninditya
EDITED BY INE/a014
(T.S012/A/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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