One of the men behind the fatal 2002 Bali bombings claims he helped the Indonesian government secure the release of hostages from the militant group Abu Sayyaf but denies he asked for a sentence reduction in return.
Bomb maker Umar Patek was sentenced to 20 years in 2012 over the coordinated attacks in Kuta which killed 202 people including 88 Australians and injured scores more.
Speaking from Porong prison in East Java, the 49-year-old told Tempo Magazine he had given advice to officials on the "character and nature" of the Abu Sayyaf group after they took 14 Indonesians hostage in two separate kidnappings in the Philippines earlier this year and demanded ransoms.
"I want to try to lobby them so that the hostages would be freed ... Several times the government envoys came to ask about the factions of Abu Sayyaf," Patek said in an interview published in the magazine on Monday.
Patek said he knew the leader of the faction that took the first group of 10 Indonesian men hostage while they were transporting coal on their way from South Kalimantan to Batangas in the southern Philippines in March.
Leader, Al-Habsyi Misaya joined Abu Sayyaf the year after he did, Patek said, adding that he also knew Jim Dragon "one of the most senior and the eldest in that faction".
"When several envoys came here, I told them how to approach them (Al-Habsyi and Dragon)," Patek claimed, adding it was through the third wife of the leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) - a group Al-Habsyi was previously affiliated with.
It is understood the group has called for a ransom of 50 million Philippine peso ($A1.42 million) for the group.
The foreign ministry has denied any money was handed over in their release last month, or in the rescue of another four Indonesian men shortly after.
Instead, they say they harnessed "formal and informal" avenues to secure the men's return.
Patek denied he asked for a sentence reduction in return for this help.
"Not at all. That's a lie. I want to help because of my concern as fellow Indonesian brothers," the bomb maker claimed.
He said the Abu Sayyaf faction which took the men were "masters" at kidnapping people from the sea but were not "sadistic" unless a hostage tried to escape.
During the interview from prison, Patek also took aim at the national counter-terrorism agency BNPT, saying the de-radicalisation programs being run within the prison is not effective.
"They (BNPT staff) don't know us personally. The ones who know us are the prison staff ...If I'm sick, they're the ones who know. When talking about what I feel, I also speak to them (prison staff).
"What changed me the most is talking with other inmates who are not terrorist inmates. I know more stories about life and not thinking that my opinion is always the most right one," he added.
