The Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia Sept. 2 — A court on Tuesday acquitted a Muslim cleric accused of heading an al-Qaida-linked Asian terror group and plotting to overthrow the government, giving a surprise verdict in a case seen as a test of Indonesia's willingness to fight terror.
The ruling was greeted by joyous cheers from hundreds of supporters of Abu Bakar Bashir, who was alleged to be the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah, a terror network blamed for a string of bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines.
"There is not enough evidence to prove that the defendant ... led and organized (a conspiracy) to overthrow the government," said Judge Muhammad Saleh who ordered Bashir to be set free.
Before the verdict, Bashir, 65, had urged his supporters to remain calm and said that anyone inciting violence was an "American provocateur."
"Believe this, no matter how many years the judges give me, we will win. As long as we defend God's laws ... we will win," he said.
Many of the hundreds of supporters wore traditional white robes or combat fatigues. Several hundred policemen, some armed with automatic rifles, stood guard outside the building. Four water-cannon trucks were parked nearby.
Bashir, who ran a religious boarding school in Central Java, was arrested in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 12 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners. He has not been charged with involvement in that attack or the Aug. 5 bombing of Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people.
But prosecutors say that under his leadership, Jemaah Islamiyah plotted to kill President Megawati Sukarnoputri with the wider aim of establishing an Islamic state.
Bashir also has been charged in a series of church blasts throughout Indonesia on Christmas Eve 2000 that killed 19 people.
Prosecutors say those attacks were to destabilize the country of 210 million people, mostly Muslims, with the aim of overthrowing its secular government.
The verdict was being watched as a test of Indonesia's commitment to fighting Muslim militancy.
The trial is politically sensitive for Megawati, whose coalition government depends on the support of moderate Muslim parties.
Representatives of these parties, including her own vice president, Hamzah Haz, have in the past expressed support for Bashir who maintains that Jemaah Islamiyah does not even exist and says that he has been framed by the intelligence services of the United States and Israel.
Analysts say that in contrast to the dozens of obscure radicals who carried out the attack in Bali where a tribunal already has delivered its first death sentence Bashir remains influential in religious circles in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country.
Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Bashir to 15 years in jail, instead of demanding the maximum life sentence.
"This case is being seen as a litmus test as to whether the Indonesian government is getting serious in cracking down on (Muslim militants)," said Ken Conboy, country manager for Risk Management Advisory, a Jakarta-based security consultancy.
Conboy warned that Jemaah Islamiyah may retaliate in the event of a guilty verdict by mounting fresh attacks in Indonesia or elsewhere.
"It would be wrong to see a legal victory against Bashir as a stake into the heart of Jemaah Islamiyah," he said. "It has grown into a broader organization now and can survive the capture of its leaders."
In Canberra, the Australian government warned its citizens in Indonesia to "exercise extreme caution," and urged Australians to defer all nonessential travel to Indonesia, citing fears of further attacks amid the continuing trials.
I'm betting there was a big stone carving of the Koran in the lobby of that courthouse.
So do you think he'll still get visits from Vice President Hamza Haz? This is great, they sentence Amrozi, one of the Bali bombers, to death (and rightfully so), but the leader of the network gets a slap on the wrist. Guess Mukhlas and Imam Samudra have nothing to fear either, then, as they were implicated by the same evidence that should have brought down Bashir in any sane court.
Looks like the Indonesia chickens need help from the eagles.
My understanding is that you are right.
I hear tell that one of the reasons the Indonesians were unable to prove their case was that key witnessses could only be interviewed / questioned by videoconference.
Why? Because they are incarcerated in Malaysia and Singapore under draconian "internal Security" laws (similar to the laws being used to hold foreigners at Guantanamo bay), and authorities there refused to allow them to be transferred to Jakarta.
Given that the next case could involve prisoners held at Gitmo, I would hope that "The Eagle" would be more forthcoming.
NB: despite the headline here, Abu Bakar Bashir was, in fact, found guilty - of treason, not of heading Jemaah Islamiya - and sentenced to 4 years jail.
It's not much, but it's a start.
Sadim
Yup. The problem is that the Indonesian judges read their decisions 'out loud', and after 8 hours it's easy to mishear something.
The version I'm running tonight:
Controversial Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is likely to be out of jail within 3 years, despite being found guilty today of taking part in acts of treason.
He was facing a number of other charges, including being the head of a terrorist group blamed for the Bali bombings of last year, but judges today fould there is not enough evidence to prove he led the radical Jemaah Islamiah group.
He has, however, been found guilty of his involvement in a treasonous plot to bring down the Indonesian Government and guilty of immigration fraud for using a false document.
He's been sentenced to four years in prison including time already served - meaning he'll be released from jail in just under three.
