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Radical Cleric Says Acquittal Is A "Blow To The West"
Jakarta, 22 Dec. (AKI) - Militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir on Friday said the Indonesian Supreme Court ruling clearing him of any part in the 2002 Bali bombings was set-back for the West True and a warning that attempts by Western nations to meddle in Indonesia would fail.False "This is evidvence that even though all this time the West think they can subjugate Indonesia, there are still some Muslims and Indonesians who have the courage to convey the truth," Bashir told Eslhinta radio in a telephone interview.
The "truth", of course, being conveyed by vehicles ladened with Semtex and fanatical jihadis. Bali hai ho!
Thursday's ruling - which also ordered authorities to "rehabilitate" the 69-year-old cleric's reputation - is largely symbolic, as Bashir was Jakarta's Cipinang Penitentiary on 14 June after completing 26 months of a 30-month jail sentence for being part of a conspiracy behind the nightclub bombings.
Does that include an Australian ad campaign?
A panel of judges at the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the white-bearded, bespectacled Muslim cleric was not involved in the 2002 bomb attacks on Bali that killed 202 people, mostly Western tourists. Presiding judge German Hoediarto said the verdict was handed down after investigating the testimony from 30 witnesses. "They all said Bashir was not involved in the case," Hoediarto told the Detikcom news portal.
Thirty witnesses conveyed the "truth"!
And if you can't believe 30 islamist jihadis swearing on a stack of Qur'ans, who can you believe?
Bashir had filed a case review to the court a few weeks before his release from prison and after Bali bombing death row convict Amrozi bin Nurhasyim retracted his statement that the cleric endorsed a plot to bomb the resort island.
Everything's goin' smooth as clockwork.
How many virgins was he promised again?
Lawyer Mahendradatta, acting for Bashir said his client responded to the verdict calmly. "Alhamdulillah. This is all the will of God," the lawyer said, quoting Bashir.
"And we're five minutes ahead of schedule, too."
Insh'allan. Let's do lunch.
The lawyer told Antara he would discuss a possible compensation lawsuit with other members of the defence team following the court ruling. The verdict, Mahendradatta said, confirmed allegations there was a "plot to weaken Muslims" in Indonesia.
Translation: "Weak" Muslims, it is time to carefully consider your future prospects. We won and the government is going to subsidize our future ... endeavors. Choose wisely.
Police antiterror investigators said bin Nurhasyim and his accomplice Mubarok had met with Bashir before the Bali bombings and that the cleric had given them permission to launch an attack in Bali. The two terrorists militants later testified in the Cilacap District Court that they did not meet with the cleric before the bombings. Amrozi said the initial testimony had been forced out of him by police.

Bashir has been accused by Australia and the United States of being the spiritual leader of the regional Jamaah Islamiyah terror network blamed for the Bali attacks and a series of other blasts in Indonesia. Bashir has consistently denied any connection to that or other attacks blamed on the southeast Asian militant group, Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) whose objective is the creation of an Islamic 'caliphate' in the region.
Posted by: mrp 2006-12-22
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=175829