Free Republic

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - A jailed Muslim cleric sharply criticized the United States on Wednesday after the U.S. Homeland Security chief said the cleric was "intensely and deeply" involved in terrorism. Speaking to The Associated Press from his prison cell, Abu Bakar Bashir dismissed the remarks by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. "For him, all Islamic figures are enemies," Bashir said. "It is clear that his government is dishonest because it has killed innocent people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine." Ridge came to Jakarta a day after the Supreme Court cut Bashir's prison term in half, meaning he likely...

Bashir release in weeks By Sian Powell, Jakarta correspondent, John Stapleton and agencies March 10, 2004 THE terrorist-linked Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir will almost certainly be released from prison next month, following an Indonesian Supreme Court decision to halve his sentence. Widely believed to have led Jemaah Islamiah until his arrest in October 2002 following the Bali bombings, Bashir has consistently maintained his innocence

Convicted cleric and suspected Jemaah Islamiah spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir could be free as soon as next month after Indonesia's highest court cut his forgery sentence for the second time. In another victory for the Muslim firebrand, Indonesia's Supreme Court reduced Bashir's sentence to one and a half years, meaning he could be free by April allowing for time already served in jail. Bashir's lawyer Mahendradatta said the court was yet to issue a formal statement about the reduction. But a Supreme Court official confirmed the sentence had been halved from three years to one and a half years....