LAKSAMANA.Net, February 28, 2005 07:34 PM
Baasyir's Supporters Rally Ahead of Verdict
Laksamana.Net - Dozens of supporters of radical Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir
staged protests in Jakarta on Monday (28/2/05), demanding he be acquitted of
terrorism charges and released from jail.
Prosecutors are seeking an eight-year jail sentence for Baasyir, who is accused of
inspiring the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings and the August 2003 bombing at
Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel. The attacks killed 214 people.
Plans to seek the death penalty for the cleric were abandoned after a series of
witnesses withdrew testimony or refused to give evidence naming Baasyir as the
leader of regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah.
Judges at South Jakarta District Court are due to hand down their verdict in the case
on Thursday. Many analysts are predicting Baasyir will be acquitted or given only a
light sentence due to the poor case presented against him.
There are concerns that Baasyir's supporters could turn violent if he is convicted of
terrorism. The cleric's followers have clashed with authorities in the past.
Demonstrators grouped in the so-called Solidarity Forum of Muslim People for
Baasyir's Release rallied outside the Attorney General's Office, the Supreme Court
and South Jakarta District Court to demand the cleric be acquitted.
The group comprised members of the Indonesian Muslim Students Action Front
(KAMMI), Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), the Al-Irsyad Muslim foundation and the
executive board of the Indonesian Muslim Students Association (PBHMI).
The protesters said none of the witness testimonies presented during Baasyir's trial
supported the charges against him. They further said the eight-year sentence
demanded by the prosecution was merely to satisfy the political interests of the US
and its allies.
They said the US and it allies were the real terrorists because of their attacks on
Muslims in the Middle East.
"We demand that the panel of judges be brave enough to release Abu Bakar Baasyir
from all accusations and the recommended sentence for the sake of justice, humanity
and the law," Jamal, one of the protesters, was quoted as saying by detikcom online
news portal.
During the rallies, the demonstrators unfurled banners with slogans such as 'Stop US
intervention', 'Judges don't be afraid of the US', 'Indonesia is a sovereign country –
don't fear foreign pressure' and 'Muslim scholars are detained by the coming disaster'.
Three of the protesters were granted a meeting with the Supreme Court's director of
criminal cases, Suparno. They told him the courts must immediately release Baasyir
because he had been arrested and tried at the behest of the US government and its
"terrorist allies”.
Protest leader Fauzan said 15 busloads of Baasyir's supporters from various cities in
Java and other islands were coming to Jakarta to witness the outcome of the cleric's
trial.
"I have coordinated with the Jakarta Police not to make difficulties for us and I
promised that those coming will not bring weapons," he said.
"If any of our members bring weapons, then arrest them. But whatever the result of the
verdict, we will oppose being expelled by a water cannon,” he added.
After Monday's protests, the supporters planned to visit Baasyir in his cell as
Cipinang jail in East Jakarta.
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