Defense lawyers seek Ba'asyir's release

JAKARTA: Lawyers of controversial cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, a terrorist suspect currently being held by the Jakarta prosecutor's office, launched on Monday a legal battle to secure his release.

In a pre-trial hearing at the South Jakarta District Court, the lawyers accused police of illegally arresting and detaining Ba'asyir under Law No. 16 on charges that he was behind the October 2002 Bali bombings while the Constitutional Court had annulled the law.

"With the ruling, the arrest and the detention of our client by police and the prosecutors is arbitrary and without grounds. So, we demand that he be released soon," said Achmad Michdan, one of the cleric's lawyers. --JP