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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesia Seeks 15 Yrs for Bashir in Treason Trial |
| 2003-08-12 |
| Indonesian prosecutors urged a court on Tuesday to sentence cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to 15 years in jail for treason linked to his leadership of a militant Muslim group blamed for a string of deadly terror attacks. Scores of Bashir’s usually boisterous supporters, all wearing Muslim skull-caps, sat silently as the demand was read. They know that the Marriott bombing ended any chance of his getting off. Bashir, 64, had faced a maximum of life in jail, although political analysts said the demand would amount effectively to a life sentence considering Bashir’s age and bouts of poor health. Yup. Prosecutors charged Bashir with treason for trying to overthrow the government by using Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the Southeast Asian militant network accused of carrying out last October’s Bali blasts and now the prime suspect in last week’s car bomb attack at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta. Bashir is also charged with approving church bombings across the world’s most populous Muslim nation in 2000 that killed 19 people and has been linked to an aborted plot to kill President Megawati Sukarnoputri when she was vice president. "The defendant has been proven to have carried out acts of treason... We demand he be jailed for 15 years," chief prosecutor Hasan Madani told the heavily guarded Jakarta court. "Based on the facts, we can conclude that every JI action needs the blessing of the defendant as its emir," he said. It’s part of the job description. Wearing a gold embroidered skull-cap, checked sarong, black jacket and white scarf, the bearded, bespectacled cleric sat impassively throughout the hearing. Earlier, Bashir’s supporters had defied a police order and cried "Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)" as he walked to his seat. The cleric denies the charges and insists JI — seen as the Southeast Asian arm of Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network — does not exist. Tell that to the families of the dead. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #2 Lucky - we called 'em doilies - like your grandma used to put on the lamp tables. Beanie is pretty good, but they can't have propellers cuz you put the dish towel over it. His has gold embroidery - so he's Extra-Holy. Amazing. Treason. Demonstrably complicit in a bombing that killed over 200 people. Not death - no, that's inhumane, unlike bombing infidels, which is divine. 15 years - prolly cuz he's old. Will have pipeline to the outside so he can spiritually lead other attacks, cuz he's a Holy Man. Will prolly play the "I'm a sick old man routine, sniff, sniff..." - again. Definitely will serve less than the paltry 15 yrs. A LOT less. Will prolly live to get out. If not, will become Holy Martyr. Yup. Twilight Zone. |
| Posted by: ·com 2003-8-12 6:40:58 PM |
| #1 "We are holy men, can you not see my embroidered skull cap" |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-8-12 12:24:20 PM |