LAKSAMANA.Net, December 3, 2003 05:27 AM
Supreme Court to Have Final Say on Baasyir
Laksamana.Net - Lawyers for radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir on Tuesday
(2/12/03) appealed to the Supreme Court to release their client and overturn his three
year jail sentence for falsification of identity documents and immigration violations.
Mahendradatta, head of Baasyir's team of attorneys, met with Supreme Court chief
justice Bagir Manan in Jakarta to submit the document requesting the release of the
cleric.
"But the Supreme Court chief still does not yet want to respond because he will study
our appeal document first," the lawyer was quoted as saying by detikcom online news
portal.
He said Baasyir must be released because the cleric has already been in custody for
over a year and his detention period expired on November 30 pending appeal.
Fellow lawyer Achmad Michdan claimed that Baasyir was being unfairly kept in jail for
forging identity papers because of an international conspiracy. "There is political
pressure from America, Australia and Singapore," he was quoted as saying by
Reuters.
The request for Baasyir's release comes after Jakarta High Court on Monday
announced it had quashed the outspoken preacher's earlier four-year treason
conviction but upheld his guilty verdict on the lesser charges of forging documents.
Central Jakarta District Court in September convicted Baasyir of treason for seeking
to overthrow the government and set up an Islamic state, but acquitted him of being
the spiritual leader of regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah.
Although prosecutors had sought a sentence of 15 years in jail, judges at Central
Jakarta District Court gave Baasyir only four years on the grounds of his age (64) and
because he had behaved politely during his trial.
In quashing the lower court's treason conviction, Jakarta High Court reduced Baasyir's
sentence to three years in jail.
Prosecutors on Tuesday said they will go to the Supreme Court to appeal against the
rulings of Central Jakarta District Court and Jakarta High Court.
Salman Maryadi, head of the Central Jakarta Prosecution Office, expressed hope the
Supreme Court will find Baasyir guilty of leading acts of treason.
Western observers say the Supreme Court's final decision on the Baasyir case will
show whether the Indonesian justice system is serious about cracking down on
dangerous Islamic radicalism.
Jemaah Islamiyah is accused of responsibility for the October 2002 Bali nightclub
bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. The group has also been
blamed for dozens of other terrorist attacks, including the August 2003 bomb blast
that killed 12 people at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel.
Baasyir has not been officially accused of involvement in the Bali bombings or the
Marriott blast. He was alleged to have authorized a series of Christmas Eve 2000
church bombings that killed 19 people across the country. The attacks were allegedly
part of a Jemaah Islamiyah campaign to overthrow the government and replace it with
an Islamic state.
Baasyir is the cofounder of the Al Mukmin Islamic Boarding School in Ngruki, Solo,
Central Java. Several of the school's students have gone on to become terrorists but
the government has rejected calls to close the school.
Australia Disappointed
The Australian government on Tuesday expressed disappointment in the Jakarta High
Court's decision to overturn Baasyir's treason conviction.
"We were disappointed with the court's decision. But we note of course that he does
remain in jail," a spokesman for Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was
quoted as saying by Reuters. The spokesman further noted that prosecutors plan to
appeal the ruling.
In a related development, Baasyir on Tuesday denied reports that he had blamed
Australia for a decision by Indonesian authorities to ban him from making a speech
critical of Jews, Christians and Americans during Idul Fitri prayers last week.
He told The Australian daily he had "never said" the Australian government had
forbidden the speech. However, he said Australia "is always interfering in Indonesian
internal affairs".
"For example, when my verdict was announced and I got four years, they protested
against it. It's annoying. I believe the Australian government has a lot of stamina in
hating Islam. What is irritating is the government, not the Australian people," he was
quoted as saying by The Australian.
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