Ba'asyir behind bombing since 1999: Police

Abdul Khalik, Jakarta

Police announced for the first time on Friday that controversial cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was the man behind a series of bombings that have shaken the country since 1999.

"Bombs have exploded everywhere across the country since 1999. They didn't occur just like that, somebody must have planned them. We have strong evidence that Ba'asyir was behind these bombings," police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said.

Police had only said in the past that Ba'asyir was involved in the bomb attacks across the country but never mentioned his role specifically.

Suyitno said police had many witnesses that would testify that Ba'asyir planned all the bombings during this period and that police had submitted new evidence on Ba'asyir's involvement in the bombings to the prosecutor's office.

Dozens of bomb explosions have rocked the country since 1999, the biggest being the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002, which killed over 200 people, and the J.W. Marriott Hotel attack on Aug. 5, 2003 in which at least 12 people were killed.

Investigators have blamed regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), of which Ba'asyir is said to be the spiritual leader, for the attacks.

"We have been able to bring over 100 suspects to court. We will use their testimonies against Ba'asyir. Many of them will testify for us. We also have much more new evidence of his involvement in the bombings," said Suyitno.

He said that his officers had submitted Ba'asyir's dossier to the prosecutor's office last week and that his office was ready to add more evidence if needed.

National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said Ba'asyir would be charged under Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism because the evidence pointed to his role in terrorist activities in the country.

"We have all the evidence we need to charge him with orchestrating terrorist activities. We can't give details about the evidence now. The public will know once we bring him to court because it will be an open trial," said Da'i after Friday prayers at the National Police Headquarters.

Police had said earlier that they would charge Ba'asyir under Articles 14, 15, and 17 of the terrorism law for planning, persuading, abetting, and perpetrating terrorist attacks.

Ba'asyir's lawyer Mahendradatta, however, downplayed the charge, saying that police were just making up so-called new evidence.

"This is the same old charge that was not proven in the first trial. This shows that police are just repeating the same charge," said Mahendradatta.

Ba'asyir was arrested shortly after the Bali bombings in October 2002. He was tried last year but prosecutors failed to prove his involvement in terrorism activities.

However, he was sentenced to prison for immigration offenses and document forgery. He was rearrested shortly after his release in April, triggering a violent clash between his supporters and police that left more than 100 people injured.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of Imam Samudra, one of convicted Bali bombing masterminds, but the Attorney General's Office said on Friday that it would give him at least one more chance to avert death by firing squad.

Attorney General's Office spokesman Kemas Yahya Rahman said the office would allow Imam to file for judicial review and possibly a presidential pardon.

"That is the procedure for a convict on death row," he said.