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Indo SC Clears Bashir - Frees Him From Jail
New Bali threat as Bashir is clearedINDONESIA'S Supreme Court has overturned a guilty verdict against the Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for involvement in bombings in Bali in 2002 and last year and an attack on the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in 2003. The ruling yesterday came as the Federal Government warned of a very high threat of terrorist attacks in Indonesia, including Bali, where thousands of Australians plan to spend Christmas and the new year. The court had heard from 30 witnesses in a review of charges that led to Bashir spending 2œ years in jail. The cleric, 68, was greeted by thousands of cheering supporters when he was released from jail in June. At the time the Prime Minister, John Howard, expressed his disappointment to the Indonesian President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, that Bashir had been released. One of the Supreme Court witnesses was Amrozi, the so-called smiling assassin, who was convicted over the first Bali bombing. He and other convicted Bali bombers are awaiting similar reviews of their convictions. Meanwhile, the Government said it continued to receive a stream of reports indicating that terrorists were in the advanced stages of planning attacks against a range of targets in the country of 245 million people. The warning, issued yesterday through the Department of Foreign Affairs travel advisory system, follows a similar warning issued by the US this week. There was a credible threat of a terrorist attack in Indonesia in the Christmas-new year period, the department warned. Security analysts in Jakarta said the warnings were justified because of credible information that the Malaysian-born terrorist Noordin Top had been planning new attacks. Top was the mastermind of attacks against Western targets in Jakarta and Bali, where 92 Australians died in separate bombings in 2002 and last year. Indonesian police this week intensified their efforts to catch Top, distributing his photograph widely throughout Central Java. Police last year killed Azahari Husin, an associate of Top and a leader of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network. Indonesian police have already increased security around churches in Jakarta. The Australian advisory warned that people should reconsider their need to travel to Indonesia, including Bali. If Australians chose to still travel to Bali or other places in Indonesia despite the warning they should exercise extreme caution, the warning said. The Supreme Court decision is expected to anger the families of the Australian victims. Australia has previously protested about what is seen as the lenient treatment of Bashir, who has consistently denied any connection to the bombings. Bashir's lawyer, Mahendradatta, described yesterday's court's decision as "God's will". Indonesian police said last night that they regretted the court's decision clearing Bashir, who runs an Islamic boarding school in Solo, Central Java. A police spokesman, Sisno Adiwinoto, said: "I am sure he was involved from the police's point of view [his involvement] has been proved." Bashir last week complained publicly that he remained on a United Nations list of international terrorists even though he had been released from jail. "I am terrorist No. 35 on the list," he told a seminar.
Posted by: .com 2006-12-21 |
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