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Ba'asyir
'told followers to kill Westerners'
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post
Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir went on trial on Thursday
for his alleged role in the Bali and Jakarta Marriott hotel
bombings, which were blamed on regional terror group Jamaah
Islamiyah (JI). The trial began in South Jakarta just over
a week after the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, who has pledged to stamp out terrorism
in the country with the world's largest Muslim population.
In a 65-page indictment, prosecutors accused Ba'asyir of
planning the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel on Aug. 5,
2003, and inciting his followers to carry out the bombing.
Prosecutor Salman Maryadi accused the cleric of passing
on an order from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to JI members
at the Hubaidiyah camp in Mindanao, the southern Philippines,
in 2000 that "permitted the waging of war against,
and the killing of, Americans and their allies". Some
of those who were in attendance at the camp then carried
out the attack on the U.S.-based hotel, which killed 12
people, Salman said.
The prosecutor said Ba'asyir also told his followers it
was permissible to steal the money of Westerners.
"If their blood is halal (allowable under Islam), so
are their belongings," Salman quoted the cleric as
saying in April 2001. Ba'asyir is being charged under the
antiterrorism law for the Marriott bombing. If found guilty,
he could be executed by firing squad. Prosecutors leveled
a secondary charge of "conspiring" against Ba'asyir
for the Oct. 12, 2002, Bali bombings, charging him under
the Criminal Code. The charge carries a maximum 20 years
in jail.
Salman said Amrozi, who was convicted along with 35 other
defendants for the Bali attack, visited Ba'asyir at his
house in the Central Java town of Surakarta three months
prior to the bombing to seek the cleric's blessing for the
attack.
Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron were sentenced to death
for their roles in the bombings that left 202 people dead.Ba'asyir's
trial is being held in a large auditorium in the Ministry
of Agriculture due to the number of people attending the
proceedings. The same auditorium had been scheduled to host
the trial of former president Soeharto on graft charges
in 2000, before the trial was dropped because the former
strongman's failing health. The white-haired Ba'asyir continues
to maintain that he is innocent of all charges and is simply
the target of a U.S. conspiracy.
"We should fight against terrorism, but not the terrorism
defined by George W. Bush. Those who do not agree with him
(Bush) are viewed as terrorists," said Ba'asyir.
The trial was adjourned until Nov. 4, at which time the
court will hear from the defense. Ba'asyir warned the panel
of five judges and prosecutors to beware of infiltration
by agents of the U.S. and Australia.
Supporters of the cleric from Majelis Mujahiddin Indonesia
packed the auditorium and shouted "God is great"
several times.
The session took place without incident despite a warning
from the U.S. Embassy cautioning its citizens that the trial
could turn violent.
There was one minor incident when a Ba'asyir supporter attempted
to enter the auditorium without a required visitor ID. He
scuffled with two policemen and was taken to the South Jakarta
Police Headquarters.
About 700 police officers were deployed inside and outside
the ministry. A deployment of officers also accompanied
Ba'asyir to the building from Cipinang prison, where he
has been detained for several months.
Ba'asyir has been in prison since shortly after the Bali
bombings. He was cleared of terror charges but convicted
of immigration violations during a 2003 trial. He was rearrested
after completing his sentence in April of this year and
has been detained ever since. M (SPS/JP/IM)
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