Indonesia’s best-known radical cleric went on trial yesterday on charges of setting up a terror cell accused of plotting high-profile assassinations and attacks on foreigners in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
Abu Bakar Bashir, 72, faces a maximum penalty of death if found guilty.
“These charges against me are fabricated,” the smiling, white-bearded cleric said as he arrived at the tightly guarded South Jakarta District Court. “All I ever wanted to do was defend Islam.”
Photo: AFP
Indonesia, a secular nation of more than 237 million people, has been hit by a string of suicide bombings blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah that was allegedly founded by Bashir more than a decade ago. More than 260 people have been killed since 2002, many of them foreign tourists.
Bashir, known for his fiery sermons that experts say incite violence, has been tried in recent years for conspiracy in those attacks. However, only lesser charges, such as violating immigration laws, for which he spent 26 months in jail, have ever stuck.
This time, prosecutors say they have enough evidence for a conviction on terrorism charges.
Bashir was accused of helping set up, fund, arm and mobilize foot soldiers for a new terror cell that was uncovered one year ago in Aceh Province.
Police say al-Qaeda-in-Aceh was planning Mumbai-style attacks on Western hotels and embassies and several high-profile assassinations, including on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The group is also blamed for commando-styled armed robberies on banks last year, allegedly to help buy weapons and finance terrorist acts.
“The defendant supported illegal military training and provided funds to buy weapons, ammunition and explosives,” prosecutor Muhammad Taufik said, adding that Bashir’s actions “created widespread fear and panic among the people.”
The courtroom, rung by more than 2,000 police, was packed with his supporters.
They interrupted proceedings with shouts of “God is Great!” every time the cleric was mentioned by name.
Judges adjourned the trial until next week, when Bashir’s lawyers are due to respond to the charges.
Though Indonesia’s fight against terrorism has won praise, with hundreds of militants killed or captured and convicted, militants have proved to be a resilient foe.
While Jemaah Islamiyah has been severely weakened, with remaining members saying they no longer support violence as a means to achieve their goal of creating an Islamic state, new groups like the Aceh cell have continued to pop up.
At the same time, the country is grappling with religious tensions and violence.
On Feb. 6, 1,500 hard-liners attacked Ahmadiyah sect members with sticks and machetes, killing three men. Two days later, a mob set two churches ablaze to protest a Christian’s blasphemy sentence as too lenient.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese