Posted on 07/03/2003 5:14:35 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The prosecution built up its case against Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir yesterday when four more Jemaah Islamiah (JI) detainees testified that he was indeed the leader of their network and that he was aware of its terrorist activities.
The videolink testimony by the four in Malaysia came a week after similar statements were made by three JI detainees in Singapore.
Speaking from police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, the witnesses yesterday spoke about how the JI plotted to bomb churches in Indonesia and sent fighters to the Malukus, the southern Philippines and other regional hotspots as it worked towards its goal of setting up an Islamic state in the region.
They testified that Bashir had been their emir or leader since 1999, and indicated that he approved all of the JI's terror attacks in South-east Asia.
'An emir's approval is always sought,' said Ahmad Sajuli, when asked if the group's leader would know about every mission.
The JI detainees in Singapore last week tearfully declared Bashir to be their leader. They also pointed to him as the man who had approved a series of bloody church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000 in Indonesia that killed 19.
Bashir, who is accused of treason and of approving the church bombings, denies the charges and even the existence of the JI.
As was the case last week, he ignored Sajuli and the other witnesses - Agung Diyadi, Ferial Muchlis and Fariq Hafid - and spent his time reading the Quran.
All four Indonesians, with permanent-resident status in Malaysia, were nabbed over the past 18 months.
While yesterday's courtroom session lacked last week's tears and drama, the testimonies, delivered in a calm and matter-of-fact manner, had the same effect in building the prosecution's case that Bashir was indeed the head of the JI network.
Sajuli, who headed JI's Askari (military) wing and sent fighters to jihads in various parts of the world, said the 64-year-old cleric had been the JI emir since the death of co-founder Abdullah Sungkar in 1999.
Muchlis testified he helped Sungkar and Bashir draft guidelines for JI members at a meeting in Negeri Sembilan.
'I remember Abdullah Sungkar, Abu Bakar Bashir and Mukhlas were there,' he said. Ali Ghufron Mukhlas is a key suspect in the Bali bombings last October.
Fariq said he took part in fighting between Muslims and Christians in Indonesia's central Maluku islands, and added that the group's reach went beyond Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, to Thailand, the Philippines and Afghanistan.
The mood yesterday was generally subdued. There was a slight moment of irreverence, when Muchlis asked the judge in jest if he could get a drink during his testimony.
Also missing were the crowds of noisy Bashir supporters. Even his lawyers did not show up. One of them, Mr Mohamad Assegaf, said later the teleconference testimony was unfair, a point also made during last week's session.
Bashir himself condemned the use of witnesses testifying against him from abroad, saying it destroyed his 'hopes for an objective trial' and violated his human rights.
I thought doctors only helped people???
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