An Indonesian Muslim cleric accused of leading a terror network accused the United States of orchestrating his treason trial to stop him fighting for the establishment of Islamic law.
"This is indeed a conspiracy. This is an orchestrated project aimed at stopping [the struggle to uphold] Islamic law, of which America is afraid," Abu Bakar Bashir told Elshinta radio in an interview before the latest trial session.
"I'm not a criminal. I just want to uphold the law," he said. "I say what is right is right. What is wrong is wrong." Bashir heads the Indonesian Mujahideen Council, which is campaigning for Islamic law in the mainly Muslim but secular nation.
Prosecutors say Bashir also heads the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional extremist group and that he tried to overthrow the Indonesian government through terrorism and to establish an Islamic state.
Three suspected JI terrorists detained in Singapore are set to testify via a televised link later Thursday. They include Faiz Abu Bakar Bafana, whom prosecutors say was ordered by a man called Hambali – JI's former operations chief who is now on the run – to tell Bashir of a plan for bombings in Indonesia and to seek his blessing.
Bashir said Bafana attended his religious lessons while he was in Malaysia. "He was a contractor," he said.
One of Bashir's lawyers, Muhammad Assegaf, said the defence team would read a four-page statement at the start of proceedings. He would not comment on whether they planned to walk out in protest against the use of a teleconference, as reported by the media earlier.
Prosecutors say Bashir plotted to bomb US interests in Singapore and authorised the Christmas Eve bombings of numerous churches and priests in Indonesia in 2000, in which 19 people were killed.
None of the witnesses called so far – including five Bali bomb suspects – has implicated Bashir in bombings or linked him definitively to JI. Two said they had either believed or had been told he was the network's leader.
Bashir, 64, could face a 20-year jail term if convicted of trying to topple the government. Police have said JI was behind the October 12 Bali nightspot blasts which killed 202 people but have not accused Bashir of involvement in that attack.