RI asked to appeal Ba'asyir sentence<\/p>\n
AUSTRALIA: Australia is urging Indonesian prosecutors to appeal
\nto a high court in Jakarta to lengthen the 2 1\/2-year prison
\nsentence given to the alleged spiritual leader of an al-Qaeda-
\nlinked terror group, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told
\nparliament on Monday.<\/p>\n
An Indonesian court last week convicted Abu Bakar Ba'asyir of
\ncriminal conspiracy in the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed 202
\npeople, including 88 Australians.<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Australian governments contend that Ba'asyir is
\nthe spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked
\ngroup blamed for the Bali attack and for a series of terror plots
\nelsewhere in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n
\"On the day the sentence was handed down, I instructed our
\nambassador to make contact with Indonesian authorities and to let
\nit be known that we regarded that sentence as too short and hope
\nthat the prosecution may consider lodging an appeal so that the
\nsentence ... can be lengthened,\" Downer told parliament.<\/p>\n
Indonesian prosecutors have said they're considering an
\nappeal, but no decision has yet been taken.<\/p>\n
\"This is an independent legal system and we respect the
\nindependence of the Indonesian courts and so we hope that the
\nprosecution will consider appealing to a higher court,\" Downer
\nsaid. --AP<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-asked-to-appeal-baasyir-sentence-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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