The Jakarta Post, 10/18/2004 3:59:46 PM
Ba'asyir gets October date for terrorism trial
JAKARTA (AFP): Indonesian Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir will go on trial on
October 28 over a deadly hotel bombing and could face the death penalty if convicted
on terrorism charges, a court official said Monday.
Yunda Handi, a clerk at South Jakarta district court, said the long-awaited trial would
be held in a special court convened in a building capable of accommodating security
personnel, press and Ba'asyir's supporters.
"His trial will open on Thursday, October 28, at the auditorium of the agriculture
ministry," said Handi.
Ba'asyir, 66, has been accused of heading the Al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI)
terror group and of involvement in the suicide bombing of Jakarta's U.S.-franchise
Marriott hotel that killed 12 people on August 5, 2003.
He will also face charges related to the Bali bombings of October 2002 in which 202
people were killed.
The elderly cleric has denied any role in the bombings and rejected claims he is
associated with JI.
He says JI does not even exist.
The October 28 date will be the latest stage in a marathon legal journey for Ba'asyir,
who was arrested a week after the Bali bombings and convicted last year of ties to the
terror group.
He was later cleared of this on appeal but remained in jail on immigration charges
until April this year.
On his release he was immediately rearrested by police who said they had fresh
evidence linking him with the Bali and other attacks. (*)
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