Jakarta – Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, accused of leading the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror network, had ordered the assassination of President Megawati Sukarnoputri when she was still vice-president, according to a copy of his indictment obtained yesterday.

But another leading JI member had refused the order from Bashir on the grounds that it was not feasible, the indictment alleged.

It said Bashir had ordered a man called Mukhlas – a key suspect in the Bali bombings – to plan the assassination of Ms Megawati in 2000 because she supported the Christians.

Mukhlas, when told of Bashir's order by a fellow JI member, was quoted in the indictment as saying: "We have no capability for that. The refusal is not against the oath, because our oath says a leader's order should be carried out according to the assignee's ability."

The 25-page indictment said Mukhlas was appointed in 2001 as the head of JI's Region One, which covers Malaysia and Singapore. It said he replaced Hambali, who is wanted for a series of bomb attacks in Indonesia.

Ms Megawati became President in July 2001. Meanwhile, court spokesman Andi Samsan Nganro said Bashir would go on trial next Wednesday. The detained Muslim radical is charged with treason for waging a JI campaign to overthrow the government and set up an Islamic state. Under Indonesian law, an act of treason is punishable by death if it causes loss of life.

JI is blamed for the Bali blasts last October which killed 202 people, and for a series of other bombings or attempted bombings in the region.

Mr Nganro said the trial by five judges would be held at a function hall owned by the state meteorological agency in Central Jakarta and would be open to the public.

"Our main concern is the security aspect of the trial, not to mention that the regular court building is inadequate to be used for this trial," he said. Jakarta police will "provide adequate security", a spokesman said without elaborating.

Bashir, 64, is not charged with the Bali blasts. The indictment alleged that he gave his blessing to the Christmas Eve bombings of churches and priests in 2000 which killed 19 people in Indonesia. It said the cleric "also approved planning to bomb American interests in Singapore" – a plot which was foiled with the first round of arrests in December 2001.