Radical Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir testifies in South Jakartas court April 25, 2011. Bashir, a leader of the outlawed Southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah faces terror charges that carry the death penalty in a trial that refocuses attention on Indonesias fight against Islamic terror groups.
The terrorism trial of Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir resumed Monday amid tight security, with hundreds of radical Islamists on hand to hear if prosecutors will seek the death penalty.About 2,500 police backed by armoured vehicles surrounded the Jakarta courtroom as the 72-year-old cleric appeared in his usual white robes to face the sentencing recommendations. The preacher, who is revered by Islamists around the region, is accused of leading a militant group that was discovered last year training recruits in Aceh province to wage jihad, or holy war.
He told reporters at the court he expected prosecutors to seek his execution if he is convicted under the mainly Muslim country’s anti-terror laws. “It is normal that they will seek the death penalty.... I’ve been turned into an icon as if I’m Osama the terrorist,” he said, referring to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed by US special forces in Pakistan last week.
“But I’m not bothered about what they request. This is all made up.” Some of his supporters shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater) as the bearded cleric and alleged spiritual leader of the regional terror networks made his appearance.
Members of the US-trained Detachment 88 anti-terror police squad were on hand and members of the public were closely patted down for hidden weapons or bombs as they entered the court. The charges against Bashir, the withered but often smiling face of militant Islam in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, include leading and financing a terrorist group and supplying illegal weapons.
The so-called Al-Qaeda in Aceh group was planning Mumbai-style attacks using squads of suicide gunmen against Westerners, police and political leaders including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, according to police. Its operations leader, Indonesian bomb maker Dulmatin, was killed by police in March last year.
Scores of other members of the group have been killed or captured. Although his former students read like a who’s who of Indonesian jihad, Bashir denies any involvement in terrorism and claims he is being framed by the United States and its allies including “the Jews”.
He told reporters at the court he expected prosecutors to seek his execution if he is convicted under the mainly Muslim country’s anti-terror laws. “It is normal that they will seek the death penalty.... I’ve been turned into an icon as if I’m Osama the terrorist,” he said, referring to Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed by US special forces in Pakistan last week.
“But I’m not bothered about what they request. This is all made up.” Some of his supporters shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greater) as the bearded cleric and alleged spiritual leader of the regional terror networks made his appearance.
Members of the US-trained Detachment 88 anti-terror police squad were on hand and members of the public were closely patted down for hidden weapons or bombs as they entered the court. The charges against Bashir, the withered but often smiling face of militant Islam in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, include leading and financing a terrorist group and supplying illegal weapons.
The so-called Al-Qaeda in Aceh group was planning Mumbai-style attacks using squads of suicide gunmen against Westerners, police and political leaders including President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, according to police. Its operations leader, Indonesian bomb maker Dulmatin, was killed by police in March last year.
Scores of other members of the group have been killed or captured. Although his former students read like a who’s who of Indonesian jihad, Bashir denies any involvement in terrorism and claims he is being framed by the United States and its allies including “the Jews”.
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