Matthew Moore, Jakarta – He was the first person to be accused of planning the Bali bombings, but when Indonesia's most notorious preacher, Abu Bakar Bashir, goes on trial in a Jakarta court today it will not be for his role in that crime.

Instead Bashir will stand accused of treason, an offence that carries a 20-year sentence. The 25-page indictment filed in the court describes him as the emir, or leader, of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the regional network accused of a series of terrorist bombings, including those in Bali. "The defendant is the leader and organiser of treason with the intention of toppling the government and fulfilling his intention of setting up the Islamic state of Indonesia," it says.

Bashir also faces three comparatively minor immigration offences, and there is a brief mention in the indictment of a meeting in Bashir's house in March 2001 where plans to assassinate the then Indonesian vice-president, Megawati Soekarnoputri were discussed. He is also accused of approving a plan, foiled by Singapore police, to bomb United States interests in Singapore. Demonstrating his involvement in these matters is the challenge for prosecutors.

Police believe they have obtained enough evidence to prove Bashir "gave his blessing" to 38 bombings in 11 cities on Christmas Eve 2000. Nineteen people were killed.

In the treason action, police have also named Hambali, JI's former operations chief and Asia's most wanted man, and two key figures awaiting trial for the Bali bombings, Imam Samudra and Mukhlas.

While police believe they can convict Bashir for his role in the Christmas bombings, they have failed to get the evidence needed to show he was directly involved in the Bali bombings.

Police had been happy to promote the view that Bashir was involved in Bali, hinting it was just a matter of time before he was held to account for his role.

The national police chief, General Da'i Bachtiar, told parliament that JI was definitely behind the Bali attacks. The chief investigator of the Bali bombings, General Made Pastika, went further and said those accused of the blasts had met Bashir before and after the attack.

There have been numerous reports about Bashir's visits to the East Java township of Tenggulun, home of the bombing suspect Amrozi, the last one made shortly before Amrozi bought the vehicle used in the attack.

Despite plenty of information pointing to Bashir, hard evidence about his role in Bali has remained elusive, as the Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, indicated last year.

"The real issue is going to be obtaining direct evidence," he said. "So far we have only circumstantial material, and strong inferences are being drawn from that.

Short of admissions from Bashir, there is a long way to go in terms of actually linking him to the planning of the Bali bombings." Bashir refuses to admit JI exists or that he is its leader.