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Indonesian appeals court clears Abu Bakar Bashir of treason
An Indonesian appeals court cleared militant leader Abu Bakar Bashir of treason and reduced his sentence from four years to three, court officials said Monday. The court upheld Bashirâs conviction on lesser charges of forging identity documents. Bashir was convicted in September of treason in a plot to overthrow Indonesiaâs secular government but cleared of charges of being the leader of the al-Qaida linked Southeast Asia terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. The decision was widely criticized by foreign governments who maintain that Bashir is the spiritual head of the group. A senior court official and Bashir defense attorney Achmad Michdan said Monday that an appeals court had thrown out the treason conviction. Michdan added that his team was not satisfied with the decision and wanted all charges dropped. He said he would appeal to the Supreme Court. Keeping Bashir in jail for three years for forging identity papers was unfair, he said. "There is political pressure from America, Australia and Singapore,ââ he said. "The law has proved that Abu Bakar Bashir is innocent.ââ The decision to reduce the sentence and reverse the treason conviction was made last month by the Jakarta High Court but only revealed on Monday. A court official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the court cleared Bashir of treason because there was not enough evidence to support the charge. Bashir, 65, was arrested shortly after the Bali attack amid intense pressure on Indonesia to crack down on extremism. He has always maintained that he was not involved in terrorism. He was not charged with involvement in either the Bali or Marriott attacks. Bashir runs a religious boarding school in Central Java. Many of its graduates are wanted by Indonesian police on suspicion of terror attacks. Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-12-01 |
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