http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/03/02/1109700536918.html?oneclick=true
Acquit fear on Bashir verdict March 3, 2005 Students from an Islamic boarding school co-founded by Abu Bakar Bashir demand his release during a demonstration in Solo, Central Java. Photo: Reuters An Indonesian Court will hand down today its verdict on the Muslim cleric accused of involvement in the Bali bombing, with some experts predicting he may be acquitted. Prosecutors have asked the three judges to sentence Abu Bakar Bashir to eight years prison for his role in the 2003 bombing of Jakarta's Marriott Hotel and the 2002 Bali bombings but dropped the primary charges against Bashir because of a lack of evidence. Hundreds of Bashir's supporters are planning to come from Central Java for the verdict and the police presence is certain to be very heavy after a riot in April last year when Bashir was freed from prison and immediately re-arrested. Police then charged Bashir with being the head of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah and said he had visited a JI camp in the Philippines in April 2000 where he allegedly watched a graduation ceremony for students trained to use weapons. One of Bashir's lawyers, Lutfi Hakim, said yesterday his client should be freed given the lack of evidence produced in the trial directly linking Bashir to either the Bali or Marriott bombings. "He should be freed because there's no evidence he committed terrorism. This indictment is even worse than the previous one," he said. While Bashir has been widely accused by Western governments of heading the Jemaah Islamiah group and blamed for the Bali, Marriott and Australian embassy bombings, Indonesian prosecutors have struggled to build a solid case against him. In his first trial, in 2003, Bashir was not proved to be the head of JI, but was sentenced to four years' prison on immigration offences committed when returning to Indonesia from Malaysia without proper documents. In that case, JI members in prison in Singapore and Malaysia gave evidence about Bashir's role in JI. In this second trial, which has lasted five months, not one of the witnesses has given such compelling evidence. The South-East Asian director of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, Sidney Jones, said the prosecutors' task had been made harder by an Indonesian Constitutional Court decision last year overturning retrospective legislation used to prosecute the Bali bombers. "I would not be surprised if he was acquitted because it was a weak case to begin with and the prosecutors were operating under severe constraints of the Constitutional Court decision." Ms Jones said there would be an international outcry if Bashir were acquitted, but it would be unfair to blame the Indonesian Government. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Give the gift of life to a sick child. Support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's 'Thanks & Giving.' http://us.click.yahoo.com/lGEjbB/6WnJAA/E2hLAA/BRUplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. Menuju Indonesia yg Lebih Baik, in Commonality & Shared Destiny. www.ppi-india.uni.cc *************************************************************************** __________________________________________________________________________ Mohon Perhatian: 1. Harap tdk. memposting/reply yg menyinggung SARA (kecuali sbg otokritik) 2. Pesan yg akan direply harap dihapus, kecuali yg akan dikomentari. 3. Lihat arsip sebelumnya, www.ppi-india.da.ru; 4. Satu email perhari: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 5. No-email/web only: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 6. kembali menerima email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ppiindia/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
