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Indonesian cleric sentenced to four years

An Indonesian court yesterday sentenced radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to four years in prison for plotting to overthrow the government, but the judges acquitted him of leading Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian terror group linked to al-Qaeda.

"In order that the defendant does not repeat his mistake ... he must be punished," said Judge Muhammad Saleh. "We, the judges, hand down a sentence of four years in prison."

The mixed result and the lenient sentence have thrown an unclear light on the efforts of the world's most populous Muslim nation to crack down on terrorism and Islamic militancy.

The trial was politically sensitive for President Megawati Sukarnoputri, whose coalition government depends on the support of moderate Muslim parties.

Representatives of these parties, including her own vice president, Hamzah Haz, have in the past expressed support for Bashir.

Prosecutors had asked the court to sentence Bashir to 15 years in jail, instead of demanding the maximum life sentence.

In a sometime contradictory six-hour decision by a five-judge panel, Saleh said there was insufficient evidence to support the principal charge that Bashir was head of Jemaah Islamiyah, which is blamed for a string of bombings across the region.

"The defendant ... had knowledge of an organization that is trying to topple the government," Saleh said. "That is why the secondary charge has been proven."

Bashir was also found guilty on the lesser charge of entering Indonesia illegally in 1999.

Bashir, 65, said he would appeal the verdict. "I cannot accept the judgment," he said.

The trial was seen as a key test of Indonesia's commitment to confronting Islamic militancy. Last month, a special court in Bali sentenced to death a Muslim radical for his role in last year's terror attacks on two nightclubs in which 202 people died.

Yesterday's verdict was initially greeted by joyous cheers from hundreds of Bashir's supporters, who had mistakenly believed that their leader had been cleared of all charges. After the trial ended, some followers chanted "Hang America."

Prosecutors tried to link Bashir to Jemaah Islamiyah, which is said to be seeking to establish a fundamentalist super-state in Southeast Asia. But Bashir insisted that the group did not even exist, saying the charges against him had been fabricated by the US and Israel.

Bashir, who taught at a religious boarding school in Central Java, was arrested in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 12 Bali bombings. He was not been charged with involvement in that attack or the Aug. 5 bombing of Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people.
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