The Jakarta Post, December 03, 2004
Ba'asyir 'unaware' of Marriot attack
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Five witnesses testifying in the Abu Bakar Ba'asyir trial said on Thursday that they
had met with the cleric either in Malaysia, Afghanistan or Philippines, but ruled out his
having a hand in the J.W. Marriot Hotel bombing in August 2003.
The witnesses were Yudi Lukito Kurniawan alias Ismail alias Abdurrahman, Ir.
Bambang Tetuko, Muh Rais, Ismail alias Muh Ikhwan alias Agus, and Masrizal bin Ali
Umar alias Tohir.
Ismail, who is serving a 12-year-jail term for the Marriott hotel bombing, told the court
that only five people, including he himself, had knowledge about the plan to bomb the
hotel.
Aside from Ismail, the four others were fugitive Malaysians Noordin Mohd. Top and
Azahari Husin, suicide bomber Asmar Latin Sani and a man called Masrizal bin Ali
Umar alias Tohir
The white-haired cleric is accused of inciting his followers to carry out the 2002 Bali
nightclub bombings that killed 202 people and of plotting the Marriott attack that
claimed 12 lives. He could be sentenced to death if found guilty.
Tohir, who was also called at the trial, said that Noordin was the real mastermind of
the Marriott attack, and that Ba'aysir had never given the order nor provided funding.
Their testimony concurred with the statements by two Malaysian militants, Syamsul
Bahri and Amran bin Mansur, who were called as witnesses during Ba'asyir's earlier
trial.
Although they all confessed to being JI members and said that Ba'aysir was the
spiritual leader of the regional terrorist group, none of them said they had ever
witnessed Ba'aysir acting as the leader of the terrorist group.
However, a team of prosecutors led by Salman Maryadi was sure that Ba'aysir was
the mastermind behind the Marriott bombing.
"Someone can plan an evil act without directly being involved in the act according to
Article 55 of the Antiterrorism Law," Salman said.
AFP reported that prosecutors said that Ba'aysir had visited a military training camp
in April 2002 in Afghanistan and relayed a fatwa by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
that permitted the killings of American and their allies.
Witness Mohamad Rais said he gave a message to Ba'asyir from Osama bin Laden
in 2001 saying that the cleric was invited to Afghanistan if he no longer felt
comfortable living in Indonesia.
Rais said he conveyed the message when he returned to Indonesia and Ba'aysir
replied "God willing". However, the cleric denied he ever received such a message.
The trial, in which 77 witnesses are scheduled to be called, was adjourned until next
Thursday.
All contents copyright © of The Jakarta Post.
|
