The Jakarta Post, 12/26/2005 8:02:20 PM
Prosecutors argue against Indonesian cleric's demand for case
review
JAKARTA (AFP): Indonesian prosecutors on Monday argued against a demand for a
case review by a hardline Muslim cleric jailed for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings,
saying the judges had issuedthe right verdict.
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was sentenced in March to 30 months in prison for his
involvement in a criminal conspiracy that led to the nightclub bombings in Bali, which
killed 202 people, mostly Western holiday-makers.
The ruling by the South Jakarta court has since then been confirmed as valid by an
appeals court and the Indonesian Supreme Court.
Monday's hearing was the result of a petition by Ba'asyir's lawyers, who claim fresh
evidence meant his case should be reexamined.
But prosecutors told the court that "absolutely no mistakes" had been made by
judges and charged that claims of new evidence were "an issue that is absolutely
old."
Ba'asyir's lawyers argue that a March 2005 affidavit signed by Amrozi, a convicted
Bali bomber who is awaiting the death penalty, in which he denied ever issuing a
statement used to convict Ba'asyir, should make the Supreme Court reconsider his
case.
Ba'asyir was convicted based on testimony that included a statement by witness
Mubarok, who claimed Amrozi told him that Ba'asyir had been informed of the Bali
bombing plan.
According to Mubarok, Amrozi said to the cleric in a meeting before the Oct. 12, 2002
attacks: "How about we do something in Bali?"
Amrozi told Mubarok that the cleric had answered: "I leave it up to you because you
know the situation in the field."
But in the March affidavit, Amrozi said that the statement given by Mubarok was a lie.
The South Jakarta district court will rule as to whether there are grounds for a case
review, which the Supreme Court would then carry out if recommended.
The hearing at the district court is to resume on Jan. 4, when the defense will call
witnesses.
The South Jakarta district court said it would ask another court in the Central Java
town of Cilacap -- where Amrozi awaits his death sentence on a prison island -- to
decide whether he should testify.
Ba'asyir was arrested a week after the 2002 bombings and first put on trial the
following year. But the terrorism charges linked to the Bali attacks were thrown out.
He was then found guilty of immigration offenses and jailed.
Police, citing fresh evidence, rearrested him in April last year as he completed his
prison sentence. (***)
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