Indonesia's Supreme Court has cut the jail term of Bashir, who is accused by regional police of heading the radical Jemaah Islamiah network, from three years to 18 months, a court official said -- Reuters
Posted on 03/10/2004 2:47:23 AM PST by csvset
WASHINGTON - The US is 'extremely disappointed' by an Indonesian court decision to halve a three-year prison term imposed on militant Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, and urged Jakarta to be firm in its fight against terrorism.
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Indonesia's Supreme Court has cut the jail term of Bashir, who is accused by regional police of heading the radical Jemaah Islamiah network, from three years to 18 months, a court official said -- Reuters
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State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said 'extensive evidence' presented during Bashir's trial had described 'his leadership role and his personal involvement in terrorist activities'.
Noting what he called the murder of innocent men, women and children, and other violent acts, such as bombings, in Indonesia, Mr Boucher said they demonstrated that terrorism remained a 'grave threat' to the security of the South-east Asian nation and its neighbours.
'And we believe that Indonesia and its government need to stand firm against that threat,' he said.
Australia had earlier warned that the Indonesian court decision would breathe new life into the JI group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings which killed more than 200 people.
Supreme Court spokesman Joko Upoyo announced in Jakarta that the court had reduced Bashir's sentence for immigration offences and forgery to one and a half years.
It was Bashir's second legal victory after an appeal court last November cleared him of plotting to topple the government through terrorism.
Bashir, 65, has always denied links to terrorism, saying the claims are part of a US and Jewish smear campaign against Islam. -- AFP
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