|
Indonesia Seeks 15 Yrs for Bashir in Treason Trial
Indonesian prosecutors urged a court on Tuesday to sentence cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to 15 years in jail for treason linked to his leadership of a militant Muslim group blamed for a string of deadly terror attacks. Scores of Bashirâs usually boisterous supporters, all wearing Muslim skull-caps, sat silently as the demand was read.They know that the Marriott bombing ended any chance of his getting off. Bashir, 64, had faced a maximum of life in jail, although political analysts said the demand would amount effectively to a life sentence considering Bashirâs age and bouts of poor health. Yup. Prosecutors charged Bashir with treason for trying to overthrow the government by using Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the Southeast Asian militant network accused of carrying out last Octoberâs Bali blasts and now the prime suspect in last weekâs car bomb attack at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta. Bashir is also charged with approving church bombings across the worldâs most populous Muslim nation in 2000 that killed 19 people and has been linked to an aborted plot to kill President Megawati Sukarnoputri when she was vice president. "The defendant has been proven to have carried out acts of treason... We demand he be jailed for 15 years," chief prosecutor Hasan Madani told the heavily guarded Jakarta court. "Based on the facts, we can conclude that every JI action needs the blessing of the defendant as its emir," he said. Itâs part of the job description. Wearing a gold embroidered skull-cap, checked sarong, black jacket and white scarf, the bearded, bespectacled cleric sat impassively throughout the hearing. Earlier, Bashirâs supporters had defied a police order and cried "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)" as he walked to his seat. The cleric denies the charges and insists JI — seen as the Southeast Asian arm of Osama bin Ladenâs al Qaeda network — does not exist. Tell that to the families of the dead. Posted by: Steve 2003-08-12 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=17542 |