Indonesian court opens Bashir terror trial
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-28 15:36

Indonesian Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir went on trial on Thursday accused of leading an al Qaeda-linked militant network and of planning or inciting others to carry out attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Prosecutors said Bashir had ordered members of the Jemaah Islamiah group to disseminate statements from al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden calling for war against Americans.

Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir waves as he leaves a makeshift courtroom of an auditorium at the Agriculture Department in South Jakarta on October 28, 2004. Bashir went on trial on Thursday accused of leading an al Qaeda-linked militant network and of planning or inciting them to carry out attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation.  [Reuters]

The trial is an early test of promises by new President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to fight terrorism. The U.S. embassy in Indonesia said the trial could spark violence.

Scores of Bashir's supporters screamed "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) as police carrying M-16 assault rifles led the bespectacled preacher into court. Bashir first waved but then silenced his supporters by placing a finger to his lips.

"It's clear I'm not guilty. I'm sure," the 66-year-old cleric said as he arrived at the court, and accused U.S. President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard of playing a hand in his trial.

"Everyone knows, schoolchildren know, it's Bush and his slave, John Howard," a smiling Bashir told reporters.

Prosecutors have charged Bashir with leading Jemaah Islamiah in relation to a suicide bomb attack at the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in August last year that killed 12 people, along with blasts at Bali nightclubs in October 2002 that killed 202.

He could face the death penalty if found guilty.

"The defendant ... planned and or moved other people to conduct terrorism crimes, on purpose and consciously using violence or the threat of violence to create the atmosphere of terror, resulting in mass casualties," said prosecutor Salman Maryadi, reciting the legal article being used against Bashir.

The trial was later adjourned until Nov. 4.

Security was tight. One Bashir supporter punched a policeman outside the court, prompting a flurry of blows from the officer's colleagues but there were no other incidents.

Authorities have blamed Jemaah Islamiah for the attacks for which Bashir is charged, as well as for last month's suicide bombing at the Australian embassy in Jakarta that killed 10.

Prosecutor Maryadi gave no details of what crimes Bashir planned. But he said when Bashir visited a Jemaah Islamiah training camp in 2000 in the Philippines his incitement prompted members to carry out the Marriott attack three years later.

The indictment said two months before the Bali blasts, Bashir met Amrozi, one of 30 people convicted over the bombings. Amrozi asked Bashir what he thought if "friends held an event in Bali". Bashir said it was their decision.

Wearing a white Muslim skull cap and with a shawl draped around his shoulders, Bashir said he opposed terrorism, even though he has expressed admiration for bin Laden.

Sensitive issue

Plenty is at stake for new President Yudhoyono.

One of his main campaign promises was to protect Indonesia from terrorism, but many Indonesians believe the United States is behind Bashir's second trial.

Two Islamist parties that provide crucial support for Yudhoyono in parliament have also expressed sympathy for Bashir.

Terrorism laws apply to the Marriott attack, while the criminal code covers Bali. The terrorism laws were enacted after the Bali blasts and cannot be applied retroactively.

Maryadi said Bashir had led Jemaah Islamiah since 1999 from an Islamic boarding school called al-Mukmin in central Java.

The indictment said military training was focused at Hudaibiyah Camp in Mindanao in the southern Philippines and which it said Bashir visited in April 2000.

"He inspected the troops who formed up lines, wore military camouflage and were armed with M-16 rifles. He then saw an exhibition that included martial arts, mortar skills and bomb planting," said the indictment.

Bashir was originally arrested shortly after the Bali blasts, but courts ruled charges over his leadership of Jemaah Islamiah and links to earlier violence were unproven.

He instead served 18 months for immigration violations.

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