Radical cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir, who has always denied accusations of leading regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah, is due to be released from jail next month after serving 29 months for his role in the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.
Following is a brief look at Baasyir's time in and out of jail over the past 28 years.
Baasyir was first jailed by the regime of former dictator Suharto in 1978, sentenced to nine years for subversion for links to two Islamic militia groups – Komando Jihad and Darul Islam – accused of seeking to establish an Islamic state. He was also convicted of distributing "inflammatory" literature calling for jihad against enemies of Islam. He was given an early release in 1982 and fled to Malaysia in 1985 to escape further imprisonment. It was while in Malaysia that he allegedly co-founded Jemaah Islamiyah.
He returned to Indonesia following the May 1998 resignation of Suharto and resumed his role as head of the al-Mukmin Islamic Boarding School in the Ngruki neighborhood of Solo, Central Java. In August 2000, Baasyir co-founded the Indonesian Mujahidin Council (MMI), which wants secular Indonesia to adopt strict Islamic law. A week after the October 2002 Bali bombings, he was arrested on charges of treason and authorizing a series of church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000.
The cleric went on trial at Central Jakarta District Court in April 2003, charged with treason, authorizing bombings, immigration offenses and falsifying identity documents. He was accused of founding Jemaah Islamiyah to destroy Indonesia's religious harmony in order to overthrow the government and establish an Islamic state. Prosecutors recommended a sentence of 15 years in jail, although they could have demanded life. In September 2003 he was sentenced to four years in jail for treason and falsification of documents, but acquitted of being the leader of Jemaah Islamiyah and of ordering the assassination of then president Megawati Sukarnoputri.
Jakarta High Court in November 2003 overturned Baasyir's treason conviction, but upheld his guilty verdict on the lesser charges of falsification of documents and immigration offenses, and cut his sentence to three years. The Supreme Court in March 2004 further cut his sentence to 18 months.
Baasyir was released from Jakarta's Salemba jail in April 2004 and immediately rearrested on terrorism charges, including conspiracy, plotting attacks and ties to Jemaah Islamiyah. He was put on trial at South Jakarta District Court in November 2004, this time accused of inciting his followers to carry out the Bali bombings and the August 2003 blast at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel. Prosecutors also said he visited a Jemaah Islamiyah military training camp in the southern Philippines and passed on an edict from Osama bin Laden calling for killings of Americans and their allies.
In March 2005, Baasyir was sentenced to 30 months in jail for involvement in a "sinister conspiracy" that led to the Bali bombings. He was cleared of the other charges. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of eight years. Western governments strongly criticized the verdict as too lenient. Baasyir's lawyers also complained, claiming the verdict was baseless and merely an effort to save face for the police and the prosecution, which had presented a very weak case.
Baasyir's sentence was controversially reduced by a hefty 4 months and 15 days as part of annual remissions granted to "well-behaved" prisoners on August 17, Indonesian Independence Day. Remissions are also granted to prisoners at the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadhan, which last year finished in November, but the cleric was denied a further sentence cut at that time. His supporters accused Australia of putting pressure on Indonesia to keep him in jail.
Baasyir has always denied any wrongdoing and claimed his trials were held at the behest of the US and its allies because they oppose his campaign for Islamic law in Indonesia.
Impending release
Baasyir's lawyer Achmad Michdan on Tuesday (23/5/06) said the cleric would be due for release from East Jakarta's Cipinang jail on June 14. He said prison officials had confirmed the release date.
He said Baasyir will immediately return to his home at the school in Ngruki. He played down concerns among MMI followers that Baasyir may face further detention and incarceration. "In our opinion, even if he's questioned it's unnecessary to detain him again," he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news portal.
Although Baasyir will soon complete his sentence, his lawyers are still hoping the Supreme Court will agree to a judicial review of his case and overturn the guilty verdict.
As part of the appeal process, death-row Bali bomber Amrozi in April testified at Cilacap District Court in Central Java that Baasyir was not involved in the attack. Amrozi, smiling and laughing as usual, claimed that he and others had been tortured into implicating Baasyir in the bombings.
Baasyir's lawyers said they would submit Amrozi's testimony to the Supreme Court in the hope of having the cleric absolved and released. So far the Supreme Court is yet to make a decision. As for Amrozi, he's expected to go before the firing squad within a year, along with fellow bombers Imam Samudra and Mukhlas.
The US, Australia and Singapore have accused Baasyir of being Jemaah Islamiyah's spiritual leader. The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control recently declared Baasyir a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and said any bank accounts or other financial assets held by him in the US would be frozen. It's unlikely he's keeping any money in the US.
Baasyir's supporters won't believe their leader is free until they see it. They fear that a May 16 meeting between US President George W. Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard, in which Indonesia's "important role" in war on terror was lauded, could put pressure on the government to re-arrest Baasyir. "Their statement will later be directed toward Abu Bakar Baasyir, who will soon be free. Their aim is to pressure the Indonesian government in order to find a way to once more entrap Abu Bakar Baasyir," Ngruki director Wahyuddin was quoted as saying by detikcom on May 17.
He accused Indonesian police of exceeding their authority in combating terrorism because some suspected terrorists were recently shot dead before being proven guilty of any crime. Police on April 29 raided a terrorist hideout in Wonosobo, Central Java province, killing two militants and arresting two others. The two dead were key associates of the country's most wanted terror suspect, Malaysian fugitive Noordin Mohammad Top, who yet again escaped capture.
"I do not reject that action be taken against the perpetrators of terrorism, but our police's action, such as in Wonosobo, has exceeded the proportional and professional limits," said Wahyuddin.
He claimed Bush's agenda is to "continue to weaken Indonesia" by making an enemy of Muslims. "Bush in no way upholds peace; rather, he is a person who is always looking for an enemy. If he said Indonesia is the key to eradicating terrorism, the key is actually in Bush's hands. He is the one who can unlock and lock world terrorism," he said.
"It's only natural that we suspect ulterior motives. Why is it that every time Baasyir is about to be released from prison there are always incidents that undermine the situation and then there are cornering statements. Who is behind all of these incidents?" he asked.
Wahyuddin urged President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government to reject all foreign intervention and not unconditionally believe all assessments of the country. He said Indonesia should be more like Iran by being determined "not to be oppressed by a superpower regardless of the risks".
He said it would be to the country's advantage to seek more balanced international relations by forging closer ties with Russia or China.
Justice and Human Rights Minister Hamid Awaluddin has rejected rumors that Indonesia will be pressured into keeping Baasyir in jail. "If the law says he should be released, he will be released. Indonesia is a sovereign country. Therefore there should not be any intervention from the outside," he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Australia presently seems more preoccupied with ongoing civil unrest in East Timor and a planned meeting between Yudhoyono and Australian Prime Minister John Howard, rather than hindering Baasyir's impending release.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer on Wednesday declined to confirm reports that Howard and Yudhoyono would meet over June 28-29 in Bali. "I'm not confirming any dates and I don't think that the meeting is likely to take place in Bali by the way; it's likely to take place in Indonesia and not in Jakarta. And secondly, let me say that I think it is very likely, but still not certain, that there will be a meeting in the next few weeks between President Yudhoyono and John Howard." Downer told 2UE Radio that Indonesia would not be alarmed if Australian troops were to enter East Timor to help restore order. Following is the relevant transcript of the interview: 2UE: Are the Indonesians a little nervous about our renewed interest in East Timor and concerned that we have ships ready to go, and so on? Downer: They haven't said so and I met, as you might recall, with the Indonesian Foreign Minister on Monday a week ago, and we had some discussion about the situation in East Timor then and I did remind him, because I assumed he would have already known, that we had been making preparations just in case. But he seemed perfectly comfortable with that.
2UE: They're kind of relaxed about that?
Downer: I think so. I mean, who else is going to be able to provide stability if there has to be some outside assistance.
2UE: Not them.
Downer: You're right, not them. They know that.
2UE: One last question, is the Prime Minister going to meet the Indonesian President fairly soon, has that been lined up? Downer: It's being lined up and it's likely to happen in the next month or so.