ABC AUSTRALIA, 09/11/2004, 21:45:13
Indonesian court rejects magazine lawsuit by terror suspect
Bashir
An Indonesian court has rejected a $US110 million libel lawsuit, brought by terror
suspect Abu Bakar Bashir against Time magazine, over an article linking him to the
Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror group.
Time ran an article in September 2002, based on alleged confessions by a suspected
al Qaeda operative, citing a secret CIA document and other intelligence reports.
It quoted the operative saying Bashir authorised JI members and resources to be used
in bombing plots in Southeast Asia.
The South Jakarta district court has rejected the lawsuit on the grounds it was
directed at the wrong parties.
The lawsuit named Time's Asia headquarters in Hong Kong and three of its journalists
as the defendants, however, presiding Judge R Soedarjatno says the responsibility
lies in the hands of Time in New York.
Bashir, 66, is currently on trial, accused of leading the Jemaah Islamiah militant
group, and being the motivating force behind bombings on the island of Bali and an
attack on Jakarta's Marriot hotel.
09/11/2004, 21:45:13 | ABC Asia Pacific
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