JAKARTA, 4 March 2005 — An Indonesian court yesterday sentenced cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to 30 months in prison for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings, but cleared him of more serious terror charges. The sentence was criticized as too light by the United States and Australia, who regard the aging preacher as a key regional terror leader.
Judges also cleared Bashir of allegations that as head of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah group he planned the 2003 suicide bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel in Jakarta which killed 12 people, and that he incited his followers to launch terrorist attacks.
The 66-year-old preacher could be released from prison by October 2006 with time already served taken into account. He has been in jail since April last year.
Bashir had faced a maximum penalty of death over the Marriott charge, but most analysts had predicted his punishment would be far less — partly due to a weak case by prosecutors. During the five-month trial, only one witness directly testified that Bashir headed Jemaah Islamiah, the group blamed in both attacks.
“I’m being oppressed by people from abroad and at home,” Bashir said after the verdict, surrounded by hundreds of cheering supporters. “They consider Islamic law to be a shackle and are slaves to immoral behavior. Allah, open their hearts or destroy them.”
“Smash America and its lackeys,” shouted one supporter, his face covered by a red scarf.
Both sides said they would consider appealing the verdict, with Bashir’s lawyers calling the sentence politically motivated. Bashir and his supporters have repeatedly claimed that Jakarta was under pressure from the United States to find him guilty.
The United States and Australia, which lost 88 citizens in the attack on Bali tourist nightclubs, consider Bashir the leader of Jemaah Islamiah and were hoping for a lengthy prison term to deter terrorism in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
“We respect the independence and judgment of the Indonesian courts,” US Embassy spokesman Max Kwak said. “But given the gravity of the charges on which he was convicted, we are disappointed at the length of the sentence.”
“We’d have liked a longer sentence,” Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said. adding that his government hopes prosecutors will appeal the sentence.
Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Sudi Sulalahi declined to comment on the case.
Intelligence officials say Jemaah Islamiah has cells across Southeast Asia where it is believed to be seeking a Pan-Islamic state. Alleged members jailed without trial in Malaysia are accused of helping two of the Sept. 11 hijackers during a visit to that country in 2000.
US terrorism expert Zachary Abuza said in the Philippine capital that Bashir supporters would be emboldened that the court dropped the serious charges, and that he was expecting an even lighter sentence.
