An Indonesian Muslim cleric on trial for leading the Al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah network Thursday rejected as a "joke" charges that he masterminded the Bali and Marriott hotel bombings. Appearing in court under heavy guard, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir ridiculed claims that while in prison he instigated the Marriott bombing in which 12 people died, saying the charges were a plot by U.S. President George W. Bush's supporters. | "Those damm Swiftvets are trying to smear my good name!" |
"Surely these charges are a joke," the white-bearded 66-year-old said, reading a defense speech during which he had to choke back tears. About 50 of his supporters attended the trial, chanting, "God is great". "I believe that the basis of all the charges against me today are a fabrication to justify holding me in detention so that I cannot remain in the community." "Many charges that were cleared in the previous trial are again being repeated with reckless abandon. Legal boundaries are being crossed and trampled for the sake of accommodating God's enemy, the Bush regime," Ba'asyir said. Earlier in the trial, prosecutors said Ba'asyir orchestrated the Marriott bombing from his prison cell. "Where is the logic that a person under detention could be connected with a movement outside?" Ba'asyir said. | The mob did it for years. |
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