Ba'asyir dismisses bombing charges as 'joke'<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The elderly Muslim cleric who is on trial for the bombings in
\nBali and at the JW Mariott Hotel in Jakarta, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir,
\nmocked the court on Thursday and challenged it to pile on the
\ncharges.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir said in his defense plea that the charges addressed
\nto him was a mere joke, made only to satisfy the United States.<\/p>\n
\"To add to the thrill, why not add the bombing (in front of)
\nthe General Election Commission (July 26), the Kuningan bombing
\n(in September) and the blast (in front of) the Indonesian Embassy
\nin Paris (Oct. 8) to my charges,\" Ba'asyir said, referring to a
\nnumber of bombings this year.<\/p>\n
He faces criminal charges for the bombings in Bali in 2002
\nwhich claimed 202 lives, for which the maximum penalty is life,
\nand of violating the anti terrorism law for the U.S.-chain JW
\nMarriott hotel bombing in Jakarta in 2003 which killed 12 people.<\/p>\n
Earlier the Constitutional Court ruled that the anti terrorism
\nlaw which was passed early last year and for which the maximum
\npenalty is death, could not apply retroactively.<\/p>\n
\"I was accused for being involved with the Marriott bombing
\nwhile I had been under detention for about a year. I didn't even
\nknow that Marriott was a name of a hotel,\" the 66-year-old cleric
\nsaid reading his statement.<\/p>\n
\"Perhaps the police and the prosecutors believe I could go in
\nand out of prison magically ... This is really a joke,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He reiterated claims that his trial was part of a U.S.
\nscenario to pressure on Muslims. Referring to President George W.
\nBush, who has just been re-elected, he said, \"He made things up,
\nas if it was a fight against terrorism. Bush's definition of a
\nterrorist is every Muslim who tries to establish Islamic law.\"<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir is also accused for attending a graduation ceremony
\nof an Islamic militia training in Mindanao, the Philippines, in
\nApril 2000, an incident which the prosecution relates to his
\ninvolvement in the bombings.<\/p>\n
Graduates of the training included Malaysian nationals Azahari
\nand Noordin M. Top, leading fugitives wanted for several bombing
\ncases in Indonesia, including the latest, Sept. 9 blast in front
\nof the Australian Embassy in Jakarta which claimed 10 lives. The
\ntraining is said to be held by the United Nations-listed
\nterrorist organization Jemaah Islamiyah, which Ba'asyir is
\naccused of leading.<\/p>\n
\"I was busy preparing the Congress of Majelis Mujahiddin
\nIndonesia (MMI) in Yogyakarta at that time,\" said Ba'asyir of the
\norganization which he chairs.<\/p>\n
His lawyer Muhammad Assegaff said that the prosecutor \"had
\nconnected several entirely unrelated events.\" Also citing the
\ninterest of the U.S. and its allies including Australia in the
\nwar on terrorism, Assegaff questioned why his client was
\nprosecuted for the Bali bombing only two years after the event.<\/p>\n
After the trial, Ba'asyir asked for a suspended detention to
\ncelebrate the coming Idul Fitri with his family at home. The
\njudges said they would consider the request.<\/p>\n
Thursday trial's was attended by dozens of Ba'asyir's
\nsupporters, his wife and two sons.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned until Nov. 11 to hear the prosecutor's
\nresponse to the defense statement.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/baasyir-dismisses-bombing-charges-as-joke-1447893297",
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