Bali bomber says he had no links with cleric Ba'asyir<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Ali Imron, who is serving a life sentence for the 2002 Bali
\nbombings, testified in the trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on
\nThursday that the cleric had not influenced his actions in
\ncarrying out the attack.<\/p>\n
His testimony posed another setback for prosecutors in trying
\nto link Ba'asyir, 66, with the Bali bombings and the 2003 bombing
\nof JW Marriott Hotel, which were both blamed on Jamaah Islamiyah.<\/p>\n
Ali had previously refused to testify until the judge
\nexplained the importance of the Ba'asyir case. Another convicted
\nBali bomber, Hutomo Pamungkas alias Mubarok, failed to testify in
\nThursday's court session due to health reasons.<\/p>\n
Ali said that Ba'asyir, charged by the prosecution for
\ninciting his followers to bomb two nightclubs in Bali and the
\nMarriott hotel, had not provided any facilities, financial
\nsupport or any religious advice for him before the Bali attack.<\/p>\n
He said he had not met Ba'asyir before the bombings.<\/p>\n
\"I saw Ba'asyir once, when I was staying at the home of my
\nbrother, Mukhlas, in Johor, Malaysia,\" Ali said, recalling the
\ndays before he went to Pakistan and Afghanistan to study Islam
\nand learn the art of war.<\/p>\n
\"As far as I knew, Abdullah Sungkar was the leader of Jamaah
\nIslamiyah. Then I found out from the media that Ba'asyir was the
\namir (leader) of the organization.\"<\/p>\n
Ali acknowledged that he first met Ba'asyir when the 66-year-
\nold taught at the Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding school (pesantren)
\nin Ngruki, Surakarta, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir confirmed Ali's testimony, saying that he knew Ali
\nwhen he was in fourth grade at Ngruki.<\/p>\n
Before adjourning the trial, the panel of judges instructed
\nthe prosecutors to present Mubarok to testify in the next session
\nscheduled for Jan. 27.<\/p>\n
\"We believe that the presence of this witness in court is
\nimportant,\" presiding judge Soedarto said.<\/p>\n
He argued that during the previous hearings, witnesses had
\nlinked Mubarok with Ba'asyir in relation to the cleric's alleged
\nrole in JI.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ba'asyir's defense lawyers asked the judges to also
\nsummon former president Megawati Soekarnoputri to testify at the
\ntrial.<\/p>\n
Muhammad Assegaf, chief lawyer for Baasyir, said Megawati
\nshould appear in court because her name had been mentioned by
\nwitness Frederic L. Bucks, a former translator for U.S. President
\nGeorge W. Bush.<\/p>\n
Bucks had told the court that Bush once asked Megawati to
\nsecretly arrest Ba'asyir and hand him over to the U.S.
\nauthorities for prosecution.<\/p>\n
The judges however rejected the lawyers' request, saying they
\ndid not believe that Megawati's testimony would be pivotal in
\nBa'asyir case.<\/p>\n
A.P. Batubara, a Megawati aide, told Antara that the former
\npresident would not be willing to testify in the Ba'asyir trial.
\nBatubara did not say why.<\/p>\n
He said Megawati rejected the appeal of the Bush
\nadministration to hand over the Muslim cleric to the United
\nStates in order to protect the right of a citizen to face trial
\nin Indonesia under the country's law.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Agriculture's auditorium, which housed
\nThursday's trial, was not as crowded as the previous sessions as
\nmany of Ba'asyir's supporters from the Indonesian Mujahiddin
\nCouncil (MMI) did not show up on the eve of Idul Adha (Islamic
\nDay of Sacrifice).<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bali-bomber-says-he-had-no-links-with-cleric-baasyir-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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