The Jakarta Post, 3/24/2003 1:19:16 PM
Court upholds Ba'asyir's detention
JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta Court ruled on Monday that the detention of terror
suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is lawful and rejected a suit from his lawyers seeking the
release of the elderly Muslim cleric.
Judge Tusani Jabri dismissed claims that Ba'asyir's detention was unlawful because
police had changed their allegations against him since his arrest last October,AFP
reported.
Police and foreign governments say Ba'asyir, 64, is the spiritual leader of the Jamaah
Islamiyah regional terror network, which is blamed for the October 12 Bali bombings
that killed 202 people, and other deadly blasts in Indonesia.
"From early on, from the handing over of the evidence file to the prosecutor's office,
the police investigators included Article 107 (covering treason) of the penal code in
their charges," said Jabri at South Jakarta district court.
"Therefore the prosecutor's office did not make any changes or additions to the
charges."Ba'asyir's lawyers, who said they would appeal the ruling, say that when he
was arrested he was accused of involvement in theChristmas Eve 2000 bombings of
churches and the clergy, and of trying to assassinate Megawati Soekarnoputri when
she was still vice president.
But the extension of his detention in January cited treason and immigration violations.
Treason is punishable by 20 years' imprisonment.
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