Australia on alert over fears Isis-linked Indonesian pilots pose security risk

AAP

9 Jul, 2015 05:00 PM2 mins to read

The Intercept reports that Agustin formerly worked for AirAsia Indonesia, while Premiair says Hendratno ceased working for them on June 1. Photo / Supplied

Australian Federal Police are monitoring two Indonesian pilots who appear to be influenced by pro-Isis elements, on concerns they may pose a security threat, an intelligence website says.

The apparent radicalisation of Ridwan Agustin, alias Hobi Panahan, and Tommy Hendratno, alias Tomi Abu Alfatih, was detailed in a March 18 operational intelligence report compiled by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and obtained by website the Intercept.

The AFP report (marked "for official use only") analyses Facebook posts by the two pilots appearing to support Isis (Islamic State).

The Intercept reports that Agustin formerly worked for AirAsia Indonesia, while Premiair says Hendratno ceased working for them on June 1.

Agustin graduated from the AirAsia academy in 2010 and flew international and domestic routes, the intelligence report states.

He began posting material indicating his support for Isis from September 2014 - posts which Hendratno "liked".

The AFP also notes that Agustin comments on the page of Heri Kustyanto, who it's believed left his Indonesian family to fight with Isis in Syria or Iraq.

At the time of the report, Agustin was active on Facebook as Hobi Panahan, was befriending radicals and listed his current city as Raqqa, Syria.

The AFP report says Hendratno lives in Bogor, near Jakarta, and was a pilot for the Indonesian Navy before Garuda and Premiair.

He had posted photos of trips around the world, including to Australia, but by December last year was posting pro-Isis material.

His friends list included many military and commercial pilots.

The report concluded that radicalised pilots were an obvious threat, "as witnessed by past global events" and noted that a recent edition of the al-Qaeda magazine had encouraged aviation attacks. Both men were trained pilots with contacts in the industry, it said.