LAKSAMANA.Net, December 3, 2003 06:20 AM
Timeline: Baasyir, Bombs & the Law
Laksamana.Net - Following is a brief look at key events in the life of Abu Bakar
Baasyir, focusing mostly on his legal battles after the October 2002 Bali nightclub
bombings.
In addition to his current case, Baasyir has attempted to sue Singapore and Time
magazine for linking him to terrorism. Both lawsuits have been thrown out of court.
August 17, 1938: Baasyir is born in Pekunden village in Jombang, East Java province.
His father and grandfather were immigrants from the Hadramawt region of
southeastern Yemen. His mother was of mixed Yemeni and Javanese descent.
1959: After dropping out of high school for financial reasons, Baasyir enters the
Gontor Islamic Boarding School in Madiun, East Java.
1963: Continues his studies at Al-Irsyad Islamic University in Solo, Central Java,
majoring in dakwah (Islamic propagation). He reportedly failed to complete his studies
due to his many commitments as an Islamic activist.
1969: Baasyir sets up two Islamic radio stations, Al-Irsyad Broadcasting Commission
and Radio Dakwah Surakarta. The stations are later closed down by the government
for criticizing the Suharto regime and promoting Islamic law.
1971: Baasyir and fellow radical Abdullah Sungkar co-found the al-Mukmin Islamic
Boarding School in the Ngruki neighborhood of Solo.
1973: Establishes a self-governing Islamic commune in Ngruki. Some analysts say it
was this commune that was later named Jemaah Islamiyah.
1978: Baasyir is sentenced to nine years in jail for subversion for links to two Islamic
militia groups – Komando Jihad and Darul Islam – accused of seeking to establish
an Islamic state. He is also convicted of distributing "inflammatory" literature calling
for jihad against enemies of Islam. Komando Jihad and Darul Islam allegedly obtained
covert backing from Suharto's intelligence chief Ali Murtopo in an effort to identify and
then discredit proponents of radical Islam.
1982: Baasyir is released from jail after serving nearly four years of his subversion
sentence. Continues to work underground for the cause of establishing shariah law in
Indonesia.
April 1985: Flees to Malaysia to escape further imprisonment. Allegedly co-founds
Jemaah Islamiyah. He also meets with an Afghanistan War veteran from West Java
called Hambali, who goes on to become operational commander of Jemaah Islamiyah.
1998: Baasyir returns to Indonesia following the May 1998 resignation of Suharto.
Resumes his role as head of the Islamic boarding school in Ngruki.
1999: Allegedly inherits the leadership of Jemaah Islamiyah following the death of
Abdullah Sungkar.
August 2000: Co-founds the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, which wants secular
Indonesia to adopt strict Islamic law.
December 24, 2000: Bomb blasts outside churches and priests' houses kill 19 people
across the country. Regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been
linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network, is later blamed for the attacks.
October 12, 2002: Two nightclubs packed with revelers are bombed on the resort
island of Bali, killing 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Authorities later blame the
attacks on Jemaah Islamiyah. Baasyir strongly denies allegations he is the spiritual
leader of Jemaah Islamiyah.
October 18, 2002: The Sydney Morning Herald quotes Baasyir as saying Westerners
and Jews masterminded the Bali bombings. "I think the bomb was done by foreign
intelligence, especially US intelligence. The indications are Americans and Jews did it
to justify the claims that have been made so far that Indonesia is a terrorist haven.
What they mean by terrorists is Muslims. So to prove their theory they created the
incident in Bali."
Asked to clarify who from the US might actually have ordered the bombing, he replies:
"I don't know who planted the bomb. It's possible Americans hired Indonesians. My
understanding is Americans hired Indonesians."
Baasyir declines to condemn the bombings, saying that families of the victims should
"convert to Islam as soon as possible" to avoid the fate of non-Muslims who die and
go to hell. He also says nightclubs would be banned under an Islamic government
because they corrupt the morals of society.
Press reports around this time also note that Baasyir claims Jemaah Islamiyah was
created by the West to discredit Islam. He also praises Osama bin Laden and
Hambali as good Muslims.
October 18, 2002: Baasyir is admitted to a hospital in Solo, Central Java, apparently
after falling unconscious due to exhaustion and respiratory problems. He "collapsed"
an hour after giving a press conference in which he denied any involvement in Jemaah
Islamiyah or the Bali bombings.
October 19, 2002: Police arrest Baasyir, who remains in hospital, on charges of
treason and authorizing the Christmas Eve 2000 church bombings.
October 28, 2002: Baasyir is forcibly transferred to Kramat Jati Police Hospital in
Jakarta and undergoes health checks. Doctors later say he is too sick to be
questioned over his alleged role the Christmas Eve 2000 church bombings, as well as
an alleged plot to kill Megawati Sukarnoputri before she became president.
October 29, 2002: Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra denies
the government will extradite Baasyir to Singapore, Malaysia or the US for alleged
involvement in terrorism. Vice President Hamzah Haz says he might pay Baasyir visit
and denies the cleric was detained because of foreign pressure.
November 11, 2002: South Jakarta District Court rejects Baasyir's lawsuit filed against
police for wrongful arrest. The court says his arrest and detention were entirely legal.
April 23, 2003: Baasyir goes on trial at Central Jakarta District Court on four charges
of treason, authorizing bombings, immigration offenses and falsifying identity
documents.
Prosecutors say he aimed to destroy Indonesia's religious harmony in order to
overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state. He is also accused of
founding Jemaah Islamiyah and secretly recruiting, training and deploying Islamic
militants in several countries in Southeast Asia.
The indictment accuses Baasyir of giving his blessing to planned terror attacks
against Western targets in Southeast Asia, including foiled plots to attack American
interests in Singapore.
Baasyir's group is also accused of making a list of Indonesian Christian priests
targeted for murder and of plotting the assassination of Megawati when she was vice
president.
June 26, 2003: A Malaysian member of Jemaah Islamiyah testifies that Baasyir
approved a series of bombings in Indonesia and the plot to assassinate Megawati.
Faiz Abu Bakar Bafana, who is being held in Singapore on terrorism charges, testifies
via videoconference that Baasyir is the leader of the Southeast Asian terrorist
network. Two other Jemaah Islamiyah members detained in Singapore, Hashim bin
Abas and Jaafar Mistooki, also testify that Baasyir is the network's leader.
August 12, 2003: Prosecutor Hasan Madani recommends that Baasyir be jailed for 15
years for trying to overthrow the government through terror attacks, even though the
maximum penalty for treason is life imprisonment. Madani says evidence proves the
cleric is guilty of treason and three immigration/identity document offences.
September 2, 2003: Central Jakarta District Court sentences Baasyir to four years in
jail for treason and falsification of documents, but is acquitted of being the leader of
Jemaah Islamiyah and of ordering the assassination of Megawati.
Judges say the Christmas Eve 2000 church bombers knew Baasyir and were aware of
Jemaah Islamiyah, but stopped short of saying he had ordered the attacks. They said
the sentence was lenient because the cleric was elderly and had behaved politely and
cooperatively during his trial.
Pre-November 24, 2003: Jakarta High Court, on a date yet to be publicly revealed,
quashes Baasyir's treason conviction but upholds his guilty verdict on the lesser
charges of falsification of documents. His sentence is reduced from four years to three
years. The ruling is not publicly announced until December.
December 1, 2003: Following the Islamic holiday period of Idul Fitri, court officials
finally publicly announce the decision to overturn of Baasyir's treason conviction.
December 2, 2003: Baasyir's lawyers file an appeal to the Supreme Court against
their client's three-year conviction on falsification of identity documents and
immigration violations.
Meanwhile, prosecutors say they will also 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, says prosecutors are certain that
judges at the Supreme Court will find Baasyir guilty of leading acts of treason.
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