The Jakarta Post, 1/30/2003 1:54:46 PM
Ja'far Umar Thalib acquitted
JAKARTA: The East Jakarta District Court acquitted on Thursday cleric Ja'far Umar
Thalib over charges he incited hatred in Maluku islands.
"The defendant has been proven not guilty and must freed of all charges," presiding
judge Mansyur Nasution said before the hearing.
The leader of the now-defunct Laskar Jihad was accused of inciting hatred against the
government in a speech he delivered early last year in Maluku, which has been
highlighted by Muslim-Christian violence.
Prosecutors had sought a 12-month jail term for Ja'far for the offense, which carries
the maximum penalty of seven years in jail.
Ja'far is the first radical Islamic leader taken to court in the country during the
18-month-old government of President Megawati Soekarnoputri.
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
