Indonesian’s top militant Islamic cleric, Bashir, to go free as jail term is halved

Indonesia's best-known militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir will be released from prison on April 4, a court official said after his three-year prison sentence was cut in half.

Bashir was detained shortly after the October 2002 Bali bombings amid accusations he headed Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked regional Islamic terror group blamed for blasts.

He was not implicated in the bombing and was instead convicted on unrelated forgery and immigration charges.

The Supreme Court decided today to reduce Bashir's term from three years to 18 months, setting the date of April 4, said an official at the Supreme Court, Moegihardjo, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.

One of Bashir's lawyers, Mahendra Datta, said there had never been legal grounds to jail Bashir for even one day, and he should be released immediately.

The cleric has steadfastly maintained his innocence since he was picked up by police in the days after the Bali bombings in October 2002 and brought to court accused of being the spiritual leader of JI.

The Australian Government has repeatedly said it believes Bashir is the spiritual leader of JI, and expressed disappointment when he was not found guilty of that last year.

The Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said yesterday that the Australian embassy in Jakarta had been unable to confirm if the reports about Bashir's release were true.

"If the media reports that we've seen are accurate, we would be very disappointed," Mr Downer said. "If he's to be released, then that obviously would give Jemaah Islamiah a bit of revitalisation."

After a lengthy trial, Bashir was convicted in September of treason for plotting to overthrow the Indonesian Government. He was also found guilty of immigration offences, but the Central Jakarta District Court failed to find him guilty on the main charge that he headed JI and gave his endorsement to a series of bombings for which the prosecution wanted him jailed for 15 years.

An appeals court threw out the treason conviction in December and reduced Bashir's four and a half year jail sentence to three years.

But Bashir's lawyers insisted he be cleared of all charges and took their case to the Supreme Court, which has been criticised for its recent decision overturning a corruption conviction against the Speaker of the parliament and leading presidential candidate, Akbar Tanjung.

An expert on militant Islam from the Australian National University, Greg Fealy, said a strong case had never been established against Bashir, partly because several Western countries had refused to make critical witnesses available.

"Will this make Singapore and the US, in particular, reconsider allowing Indonesian access to vital witnesses such as Hambali and Bafana?" Dr Fealy asked."It goes back to what sort of case you are able to make without being able to bring the key witnesses into Indonesia."

In an interview recorded in jail and aired on SBS television last night, Bashir said the CIA was behind the Bali bombings.

"Only the dishonest and stupid people deny that the CIA used Bali for their own purposes," he said. "If we're talking about terrorists, it's America, people who don't show their real interests. It's just America's tricks. America and Australia."

He said Australia and the US were intent on undermining Indonesia's Muslim population.

Jailed Muslim Cleric Criticizes U.S.
By CHRIS BRUMMITT
Associated Press Writer
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V2034.AP-Indonesia-US-Se.html

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)--A jailed Muslim cleric sharply criticized the United States on Wednesday after the U.S. Homeland Security chief said the cleric was ``intensely and deeply'' involved in terrorism.

Speaking to The Associated Press from his prison cell, Abu Bakar Bashir dismissed the remarks by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.

``For him, all Islamic figures are enemies,'' Bashir said. ``It is clear that his government is dishonest because it has killed innocent people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine.''

Ridge came to Jakarta a day after the Supreme Court cut Bashir's prison term in half, meaning he likely will be set free April 4. Bashir had been convicted of forgery and immigration offenses; a treason conviction was annulled earlier.

The 65-year-old cleric was arrested shortly after the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. He never was directly implicated in the Bali attacks nor in a suicide bombing last year that killed 12 people in Jakarta. But several governments have maintained Bashir was the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida- linked regional terror group blamed for the bombings.

Although Bashir has denied any involvement in terrorism, he has publicly defended the 32 people convicted in the Bali bombings.

Ridge, visiting Indonesia during an Asian tour, said he was disappointed by the Supreme Court ruling and hoped Bashir could ``be brought to justice in a different way.''

The United States believes Bashir had an ``intense and deep involvement in the planning and execution of terrorist activities,'' Ridge said at a news conference with Indonesian Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Afterward, Yudhoyono said: ``The government of Indonesia respects the decision of the court.''

Prosecutors have yet to comment on the Supreme Court ruling, which they can appeal if new evidence is presented to the court.

The government is eager to win Islamic votes in upcoming elections, and some analysts say it could benefit by releasing Bashir, who enjoys support among conservative Muslims.

Bashir was originally sentenced to four years in jail for treason and immigration offenses. An appeals tribunal later reduced his term to three years and annulled the treason conviction.

Some anti-terrorism experts say prosecutors had difficulty establishing a case against Bashir in part because Washington denied police access to two Indonesian terror suspects in U.S. custody.

Eighty-eight of those killed on Bali were Australians. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the Supreme Court ruling could revitalize Jemaah Islamiyah.

``This is an organization we've been helping the Indonesians work to round up, and many of them, of course, were involved in the Bali bombing,'' Downer told ABC Radio.

Also Wednesday, Ridge met with President Megawati Sukarnoputri to discuss the war on terror. He declined to answer further questions on Bashir, but praised Indonesia's commitment to fighting militancy.

``The United States appreciates the successes that Indonesia has achieved in confronting the threat of terror,'' Ridge said.

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