Posted on 04/17/2004 6:20:15 AM PDT by knighthawk
EXTREMIST Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir - accused of links to the Bali bombing - could have his imminent release from jail delayed by up to six months while another terrorism case is mounted against him.
In a move that will enrage his hardline supporters, Bashir, to be released from Jakarta's Salemba prison on April 30, now has official suspect status. Under Indonesia's anti-terrorism laws he can be held for six months.
"Principally, we have declared ... Abu Bakar Bashir a suspect and we have sent the order to prosecutors to initiate his interrogation," national police chief Dai Bachtiar said yesterday.
A spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office confirmed police had sent an official letter to the Jakarta prosecutor's office announcing the investigation into Bashir.
Looking relaxed in prison yesterday, Bashir said the US's meddling in his case had been proved. "This is an order to satisfy America," he said. "The information they are using is information which has come from evil people."
Often described as the spiritual leader of terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah, Bashir founded an Islamic boarding school in Ngruki, Solo, which is the alma mater of dozens of accused and convicted JI extremists, including key Bali bombers.
Reflecting the political sensitivities of the case, Indonesian police declined to say whether Bashir would be detained past his April 30 release date.
Police spokesman Inspector-General Basyir Bermawi said new proof against the suspected Jemaah Islamiah leader had been found in Semarang, where police raided a JI bomb factory last year.
Four of the Semarang JI suspects are now on trial in the central Java city.
General Bermawi also referred to the interrogation of Taufiq Rizki, the now-detained treasurer of JI's chapter in The Philippines.
"We will provide something that can be relied on to the investigation," General Bermawi said.
Widely believed to have led JI until his arrest in October 2002 following the Bali bombings, Bashir has consistently maintained his innocence.
The preacher has denied all knowledge of the JI Bali blasts which killed 202 people, yet he consistently refused to condemn the bombers.
Australia and the US, particularly, have been lobbying Indonesia to keep Bashir in prison. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer called him "a hideous creature", and US Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Bashir had "intense and deep" involvement in the planning and execution of terror attacks.
Bashir was last year sentenced to four years in prison on treason, forgery and immigration charges, but last month the Supreme Court cut his sentence to 18 months.
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