US expert expelled from Indonesia, again
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-25 14:53

A leading American expert on Indonesia's terrorist groups has been expelled from the country for a second time, officials said Friday. No explanation was provided.

Sidney Jones, project director for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, was refused entry to Indonesia Thursday when she returned from a trip to Taiwan. She was sent to Singapore.

"I received no explanation and no warning that it was going to happen," she told The Associated Press by telephone. "When I got to the airport in Jakarta they told me they had an Oct. 7 letter banning me from entry."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin confirmed Jones had been barred but gave no reason.

The International Crisis Group has issued detailed reports on the activities of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah. The group has been blamed for at least four deadly bombings in Indonesia since 2002, including last month's triple suicide attacks on the resort island of Bali that killed 20 people.

Jones was expelled from Indonesia last year for allegedly publishing false reports damaging to the country's image. She only returned in July.