(Indonesian leader of al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah) Bashir gets four years for treason

Sydney Morning Herald ^ | September 2, 2003

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An Indonesian court today sentenced Abu Bakar Bashir, an elderly Islamic cleric, to four years in prison for treason and other offences.

A panel of judges had found Bashir guilty of treason but said he was not guilty of leading a plot to overthrow the government.

Nor, it said, was there proof that Bashir headed the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group.

However, the panel found him guilty of forgery and immigration offences.

Following the verdict, Bashir said he would appeal.

Chief judge Muhammad Saleh said: "There is not enough evidence to say that the defendant Abu Bakar Bashir is the leader and the organiser of subversion with the intention of overthrowing the government."

But Saleh said Bashir "has been proven to take part in subversion with the aim of overthrowing the government" - a subsidiary charge which the cleric had faced.

Minutes earlier the court had said Bashir was not guilty of ordering the assassination of President Megawati Sukarnoputri when she was vice president.

"There is not enough evidence to say that the defendant Abu Bakar Bashir is the leader and the organiser of subversion with the intention of overthrowing the government," said Saleh.

Earlier the panel of Indonesian judges said there was no proof Bashir headed the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group.

"The panel has an opinion that Abu Bakar Bashir has not been proven as the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah," said Saleh.

Saleh also cleared the cleric of one immigration charge which he faced, that of ordering others to put false information into a document.

Deafening shouts of "Allahu Akbar!" (God is greatest) rang out from supporters as Bashir took his seat in court.

The cleric told supporters to be calm. "Please do not create chaos," he told them.

"Let us show the character of Islam. Believe me, whatever punishment is given (me), we are still winning as long as we are defending the laws of Allah.

"If anyone creates chaos, it is...an American provocateur and not MMI (the Indonesian Mujahideen Council, which he heads)."

Prosecutors, who had asked for a 15-year jail term, said Bashir heads the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

The Southeast Asian network is blamed for a string of bloody attacks including church bombings which killed 19 people on Christmas Eve 2000, the Bali blasts last October 12 which killed 202 people and last month's Jakarta hotel blast that claimed 12 lives.

About 400 of Bashir's followers, many wearing military fatigues and keffiyeh-style headdresses, had gathered outside in a noisy show of support. Some were allowed into the courtroom.

More than 1,500 police were deployed in and around the court, said senior officer Ricky Wakanno. Scores of paramilitary police, some of them armed, guarded the approach and two water cannon were parked outside the building.

Most supporters were from MMI, which campaigns for Islamic sharia law in Indonesia, and had travelled from Bashir's home region around the Central Java city of Solo.

They displayed a banner reading: "Mujahideen are against terrorism, wish to die as martyrs."

"Release ustadz (teacher) Abu!" the crowd shouted.

"Judges, you should follow your conscience -- remember you are Muslims," one protester shouted through a loudspeaker.

Earlier, Australia warned its nationals in Indonesia to exercise "extreme caution" and to stay away from the court area when the verdict is delivered.

The Foreign Affairs Department said the trials of extremists could prompt demonstrations or acts of terrorism.

Bashir is not accused over the Bali blasts but is charged with approving the Christmas Eve attacks, a foiled bombing campaign in Singapore, and an aborted plot to kill Megawati Sukarnoputri before she became president.

He says he was framed by the United States and other "infidel enemies" of Islam because he was struggling to introduce sharia.

The cleric denies that JI even exists and has warned judges they will face God's wrath if they find him guilty.

Singapore publicly identified Bashir as JI's leader in February 2002 but Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-populated nation, was slow to move against him.

In May last year Vice President Hamzah Haz visited the cleric's Islamic boarding school at Ngruki in Central Java. Haz declared afterwards that international terrorism does not exist in Indonesia.

One week after the Bali attack, Bashir was arrested in his hospital bed and has been in custody ever since. His trial began on April 23.

Chief judge Muhammad Saleh told ElShinta radio that judges would read a 222-page summary of the evidence before giving their verdict, which was not expected until late afternoon local time at the earliest.

Prosecutors' hopes of proving their case rest largely on the evidence from JI suspects detained in Malaysia and Singapore. They testified by TV link that Bashir heads the network and would have authorised bomb plots.

AFP