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Bashir's sentence in Bali attacks upheld

The Supreme Court upheld a 30-month prison sentence for militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, a court official said yesterday.

Bashir's lawyers blasted the decision, saying their client was innocent, but victims of the violence said they were far from satisfied.

Bashir, the alleged spiritual head of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, was convicted in March for giving his blessing to militants who carried out the attacks that killed 202 people, many of them Australian tourists.

The Supreme Court upheld the decision in a closed-door session on Wednesday, exhausting his appeals process, said Johanes Suhadi, who is a spokesman for South Jakarta District Court.

He had no other details.

Lawyers for Bashir said the ruling was expected and accused the US of interfering.

"We deeply regret the Supreme Court decision," said Muhammad Assegaf.

"But it does not change anything -- we believe our client is innocent. He was not involved in the Bali bombings," he said.

Assegaf said that Bashir would seek justice through other channels.

The Australian father of one of the victims, 21-year-old Josh Deegan, said there was no reason to celebrate.

The 30-month sentence is "an insult," Brian Deegan said, adding that the Indonesian government was "paying lip service" to Australia and the victims of the bombings by not pushing for a harsher punishment.

Bashir is known for strong anti-Western and anti-Semitic views but has denied any involvement in terrorism.

Bashir's 30-month sentence was decried by the governments of the US and Australia, which were hoping for a longer punishment to deter terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
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