Ba'asyir contests jail sentence

JAKARTA: Lawyers of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir filed on Wednesday an appeal to a higher court to revoke his 30-month prison sentence for his role in conspiring the 2002 Bali bombings.

The lawyers enclosed a written statement from convicted Bali bomber Amrozi, who said he had been banned by prosecutors from testifying before the judges or had never been asked to do so.

Central Jakarta District Court judges jailed Ba'asyir early last month based on an account made by another Bali bomber, Mubarok, during police interrogation that the Muslim cleric let Amrozi hold "an event" on the resort island prior to the attacks.

Mubarok kept silent during a hearing on Jan. 27 to hear his testimony.

One of the lawyers, Achmad Midan, said the Jakarta High Court should ask Amrozi to testify when it hears the appeal case. -- Antara