Posted on 06/20/2004 4:35:17 AM PDT by angkor
Police suspect militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir was behind a series of bombings that have rocked Indonesia since 1999, a report said.
"Bombs have exploded everywhere across the country since 1999 ... We have strong evidence that Bashir was behind these bombings," national police detective chief Suyitno Landung was quoted by the Jakarta Post as saying.
Landung said police had many witnesses that would testify that Bashir planned the bombings.
Police could not immediately be reached for comment.
Indonesia has been hit by a series of bomb attacks since 1999, notably the October 2002 Bali bombings which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
Most of the attacks are blamed on the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional extremist network, of which Bashir is allegedly the leader.
A Jakarta court on Monday rejected a lawsuit brought by Bashir's lawyers seeking his release from police detention.
Police rearrested Bashir on April 30 as he stepped out of a Jakarta prison after completing a sentence for immigration violations.
Police had earlier said Bashir would be charged with involvement in attacks between 1999 and 2002 by virtue of his alleged leadership of JI.
The cleric is being held under an anti-terror law which allows detention without trial for six months.
Bashir has denied involvement in terrorism and has said the United States wanted him in jail because he was critical of its policies.
A court last September jailed Bashir for four years for involvement in a JI plot to overthrow the government but said there was no proof he led the network.
An appeal court overturned the treason conviction but ruled that Bashir must serve three years for immigration-related offences. The Supreme Court later halved that sentence.
So arrest the SOB and behead him! Well, after a fair trial that is.
Given the judicial system in Indonesia, I suggest beheading him first then giving him a fair trial.
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