REUTERS, Tue 4 Oct 2005 4:47 AM ET
Indonesian cleric Bashir condemns Bali blasts
JAKARTA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Jailed Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, believed to be
the spiritual leader of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah militant network, on
Tuesday condemned the Bali blasts and said innocent people had died.
But he said the attacks were a warning from Allah.
Indonesian investigators in Bali have said they suspect Jemaah Islamiah of being
behind Saturday's suicide bombings that killed 22 people and wounded 135.
"I very much disagree with any bombings, regardless of the reasons, in safe areas
which are aimed at sacrificing the innocent," Bashir said in a statement read to
Reuters by his assistant, Hasyim Abdullah.
"I am sorry for the bombing victims, who essentially know nothing, especially the
Muslims," he said.
Bashir was sentenced to 30 months in jail in March for involvement in a conspiracy to
carry out the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign
tourists. The sentence was later reduced by 135 days in an annual prisoner remission
scheme.
"I call on the government to bring themselves closer to Allah by obeying his laws.
These events essentially are a warning from Allah to all of us for not obeying enough
of his teachings."
A lawyer for Bashir told Reuters the cleric had not been visited by police or
questioned in relation to the latest blasts.
Police and intelligence officials in Indonesia and other countries have said they believe
Bashir was the spiritual leader, or emir, of Jemaah Islamiah.
They say the network, which has been linked to al Qaeda and seeks to set up a
pan-Southeast Asian Muslim state, is responsible for a string of bombings in
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Bashir denies being a Jemaah Islamiah leader, and says he does not believe the
group even exists. Efforts in court to prove he led the militant network have failed.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
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