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| Southeast Asia |
| Timeline: Baasyir, Bombs & the Law |
| 2003-12-02 |
Baasyir’s current trouble with the Indonesian Government is not over Bali -- although those bad acts probably prompted his current troubles. Just give the Indonesians enough time, and Baasyir is not likely to roam free again . . . In addition to his current case, Baasyir has attempted to sue Singapore and Time magazine for linking him to terrorism. Both lawsuits have been thrown out of court. August 17, 1938: Baasyir is born in Pekunden village in Jombang, East Java province. His father and grandfather were immigrants from the Hadramawt region of southeastern Yemen. His mother was of mixed Yemeni and Javanese descent. * * * 1982: Baasyir is released from jail after serving nearly four years of his subversion sentence. Continues to work underground for the cause of establishing shariah law in Indonesia. April 1985: Flees to Malaysia to escape further imprisonment. Allegedly co-founds Jemaah Islamiyah. He also meets with an Afghanistan War veteran from West Java called Hambali, who goes on to become operational commander of Jemaah Islamiyah. 1998: Baasyir returns to Indonesia following the May 1998 resignation of Suharto. Resumes his role as head of the Islamic boarding school in Ngruki. 1999: Allegedly inherits the leadership of Jemaah Islamiyah following the death of Abdullah Sungkar. August 2000: Co-founds the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, which wants secular Indonesia to adopt strict Islamic law. December 24, 2000: Bomb blasts outside churches and priests’ houses kill 19 people across the country. Regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network, is later blamed for the attacks. October 12, 2002: Two nightclubs packed with revelers are bombed on the resort island of Bali, killing 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Authorities later blame the attacks on Jemaah Islamiyah. Baasyir strongly denies allegations he is the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah. * * * October 19, 2002: Police arrest Baasyir, who remains in hospital, on charges of treason and authorizing the Christmas Eve 2000 church bombings. * * * April 23, 2003: Baasyir goes on trial at Central Jakarta District Court on four charges of treason, authorizing bombings, immigration offenses and falsifying identity documents. * * * September 2, 2003: Central Jakarta District Court sentences Baasyir to four years in jail for treason and falsification of documents, but is acquitted of being the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah and of ordering the assassination of Megawati. * * * Pre-November 24, 2003: Jakarta High Court, on a date yet to be publicly revealed, quashes Baasyir’s treason conviction but upholds his guilty verdict on the lesser charges of falsification of documents. His sentence is reduced from four years to three years. The ruling is not publicly announced until December. * * * December 2, 2003: Baasyir’s lawyers file an appeal to the Supreme Court against their client’s three-year conviction on falsification of identity documents and immigration violations. Meanwhile, prosecutors say they will also go to the Supreme Court to appeal against the rulings of Central Jakarta District Court and Jakarta High Court. Salman Maryadi, head of the Central Jakarta Prosecution Office, says prosecutors are certain that judges at the Supreme Court will find Baasyir guilty of leading acts of treason. |
| Posted by:cingold |