Ba'asyir to seek case review after verdict

Ba'asyir to seek case review after verdict

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Controversial Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir plans to file
for a case review after his appeal was recently overturned by the
Supreme Court, the cleric's lawyer, M. Assegaf, said over the
weekend.

Ba'asyir was found guilty of conspiring in terror activities,
including his link to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a mysterious
organization that has been accused of orchestrating the 2002 Bali
bombing and the 2003 JW Marriott hotel blast in Jakarta.

He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

Assegaf said he had not been officially notified by the
Supreme Court about its verdict on his client's case, but he had
discussed what further action to take with Ba'asyir.

"Appealing to the Supreme Court is the final legal move, but
if there's a possibility for a review, which there is, we will
request one," he told The Jakarta Post.

Asked what new evidence would be presented for the review,
Assegaf said he would have to wait to read the official copies of
the verdict, which was handed down last Wednesday, before
preparing for the review.

"We first have to study the Supreme Court's considerations in
overturning our appeal," he said.

Assegaf said Ba'asyir rejected the court's decision, which he
said was an injustice against him, the leader of the Ngruki
Islamic boarding school in East Java.

"From the very start of his case, (Ba'asyir) has consistently
said that he is being oppressed, including by the intervention of
the United States in his trials from the first time he was
tried," he said.

Assegaf said his client believed there was a systematic effort
to keep him behind bars by all means, especially after a
controversial testimony claiming that a top U.S. official had
requested that then president Megawati Soekarnoputri keep
Ba'asyir in detention.

"The considerations used by the courts to declare Ba'syir
guilty have always been vague. They insisted on accusing him of
conspiring with Amrozi based on a conversation about bombing Bali
they allegedly had, which Amrozi himself denied," said Assegaf.

Amrozi was one of the Bali bombers found guilty and is
awaiting execution.

Sixty-six-year-old Ba'asyir was first brought to trial in 2003
on a similar charge, but he was cleared. However, he was found
guilty of immigration offenses and served 18 months in jail.

He was immediately rearrested upon release after police
claimed to have gathered new evidence on his role in JI and the
terror attacks.