Ba'asyir's case ready for trial: AGO
Ba'asyir's case ready for trial: AGO
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office (AGO) announced on Thursday that
Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir's case file was complete and
that the terrorist suspect would soon be tried.
"We believe the evidence is enough. We are now arranging
the trial time with the court," said AGO spokesman Kemas Yahya
Rahman.
"We still have to complete some administrative requirements
before handing the case over to the court. However, the trial
will start soon," he said without giving a precise date.
According to legal procedures, he said, his office still had
several days to complete the administrative requirements before
forwarding the case to the court.
National Police investigators submitted Ba'asyir's files to
the Jakarta prosecutor's office early last week. They said that
they had new evidence proving that the cleric was behind a series
of terrorist attacks that have rocked the country since 1999.
Police named Ba'asyir a terrorist suspect on April 16 and
charged him with violating articles 14, 15, 17 and 18 of Law No.
15/2003 on antiterrorism for planning, ordering, abetting and
perpetrating terrorist attacks. He could face the death penalty
if convicted.
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung
Sudjono said earlier that as the spiritual leader of the Jamaah
Isalmiyah (JI) terror group, Ba'asyir was responsible for
planning the bomb attacks in the country between 1999 and 2002.
The JI is a UN-listed terrorist organization blamed for the
Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings and the Aug. 5, 2003 JW Marriott
Hotel attack in Jakarta.
Kemas said that the evidence was now strong enough to charge
Ba'asyir with terrorism offenses.
"The police have submitted new evidence different from
previous evidence submitted in the 2003 trial, but we can't give
out more details than that right now. The trial will be opened
for the public, so the evidence will be clear later," said Kemas.
Ba'asyir was tried last year but prosecutors failed to prove
his involvement in terrorist 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.