Ba'asyir 'told followers to kill Westerners'<\/p>\n
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir went on trial on Thursday for
\nhis alleged role in the Bali and Jakarta Marriott hotel bombings,
\nwhich were blamed on regional terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).<\/p>\n
The trial began in South Jakarta just over a week after the
\ninauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has
\npledged to stamp out terrorism in the country with the world's
\nlargest Muslim population.<\/p>\n
In a 65-page indictment, prosecutors accused Ba'asyir of
\nplanning the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel on Aug. 5, 2003, and
\ninciting his followers to carry out the bombing.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Salman Maryadi accused the cleric of passing on an
\norder from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to JI members at the
\nHubaidiyah camp in Mindanao, the southern Philippines, in 2000
\nthat \"permitted the waging of war against, and the killing of,
\nAmericans and their allies\".<\/p>\n
Some of those who were in attendance at the camp then carried
\nout the attack on the U.S.-based hotel, which killed 12 people,
\nSalman said.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor said Ba'asyir also told his followers it was
\npermissible to steal the money of Westerners.<\/p>\n
\"If their blood is halal (allowable under Islam), so are their
\nbelongings,\" Salman quoted the cleric as saying in April 2001.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir is being charged under the antiterrorism law for the
\nMarriott bombing. If found guilty, he could be executed by firing
\nsquad.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors leveled a secondary charge of \"conspiring\" against
\nBa'asyir for the Oct. 12, 2002, Bali bombings, charging him under
\nthe Criminal Code. The charge carries a maximum 20 years in jail.<\/p>\n
Salman said Amrozi, who was convicted along with 35 other
\ndefendants for the Bali attack, visited Ba'asyir at his house in
\nthe Central Java town of Surakarta three months prior to the
\nbombing to seek the cleric's blessing for the attack.<\/p>\n
Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron were sentenced to death
\nfor their roles in the bombings that left 202 people dead.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir's trial is being held in a large auditorium in the
\nMinistry of Agriculture due to the number of people attending the
\nproceedings. The same auditorium had been scheduled to host the
\ntrial of former president Soeharto on graft charges in 2000,
\nbefore the trial was dropped because the former strongman's
\nfailing health.<\/p>\n
The white-haired Ba'asyir continues to maintain that he is
\ninnocent of all charges and is simply the target of a U.S.
\nconspiracy.<\/p>\n
\"We should fight against terrorism, but not the terrorism
\ndefined by George W. Bush. Those who do not agree with him (Bush)
\nare viewed as terrorists,\" said Ba'asyir.<\/p>\n
The trial was adjourned until Nov. 4, at which time the court
\nwill hear from the defense.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir warned the panel of five judges and prosecutors to
\nbeware of infiltration by agents of the U.S. and Australia.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the cleric from Majelis Mujahiddin Indonesia
\npacked the auditorium and shouted \"God is great\" several times.<\/p>\n
The session took place without incident despite a warning from
\nthe U.S. Embassy cautioning its citizens that the trial could
\nturn violent.<\/p>\n
There was one minor incident when a Ba'asyir supporter
\nattempted to enter the auditorium without a required visitor ID.
\nHe scuffled with two policemen and was taken to the South Jakarta
\nPolice Headquarters.<\/p>\n
About 700 police officers were deployed inside and outside the
\nministry. A deployment of officers also accompanied Ba'asyir to
\nthe building from Cipinang prison, where he has been detained for
\nseveral months.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir has been in prison since shortly after the Bali
\nbombings. He was cleared of terror charges but convicted of
\nimmigration violations during a 2003 trial. He was rearrested
\nafter completing his sentence in April of this year and has been
\ndetained ever since.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/baasyir-told-followers-to-kill-westerners-1447893297",
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