Lack of evidence blamed for Ba'asyir's light term

Lack of evidence blamed for Ba'asyir's light term

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Surakarta

The lenient prison sentence handed down on Thursday for cleric
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir stemmed from the failure of the prosecution to
present sufficient evidence against him, analysts said.

Prominent Muslim scholar and political analyst Azyumardi Azra
pointed out that prosecutors did not have strong evidence to
directly link Ba'asyir to a series of terror attacks.

"I think the main reason for the light sentence is because
prosecutors, and before that the police, failed to provide
convincing evidence against Ba'asyir," he told The Jakarta Post.

He added that a difference of opinion among the panel of
judges caused by the weak evidence also prompted them to sentence
Ba'asyir to just 30 months in prison for conspiracy to commit
terror.

However, Azyumardi, the rector of the Syarif Hidayatullah
State Islamic University, praised the judges for being
independent.

"The verdict clearly shows that the judges were independent.
During the trial, the messages were clear that our judiciary
system could not be influenced by certain countries' interests,"
he said.

Similarly, Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Habibie Center think tank
said Ba'asyir's sentence did not satisfy anyone and was due to a
lack of evidence against the cleric.

"In the end, the verdict does not satisfy anybody. Foreign
governments are disappointed, while his supporters at home are
also disappointed, for different reasons," she told AFP.

Dewi said the prosecutors failed to provide concrete evidence
on Ba'asyir's involvement in terrorism, because unless the
suspect was directly involved, it would be very hard to prove
under the legal system here.

"Foreign governments are convinced that Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is
the spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah based on intelligence
they have. But intelligence data cannot be used in our judicial
system," she added.

Australia and the United States, who have accused Ba'asyir of
leading the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) militant group blamed for the
Bali bombings and other attacks, were quick to criticize the
verdict as "disappointing".

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that his
government had always known that Ba'asyir was privy to the Bali
attack and that, as the JI spiritual leader he could have stopped
it, but chose not to.

"It's satisfying that he has been convicted (but) it's
disappointing that the sentence is just for two-and-a-half
years," he was quoted by AFP as saying.

Downer said he would have liked a longer sentence and urged
the prosecution to consider appealing against the sentence.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Max Kwak stated that although the U.S.
respected the independence of Indonesia's judiciary and welcomed
the conviction, they were disappointed by the lenient sentence.

Ba'asyir, 66, was cleared by the South Jakarta District Court
of more serious terrorism charges, including that of heading JI,
but was found guilty of involvement in a "sinister conspiracy"
that led to the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali which, left 202
people dead.

The preacher was also cleared of involvement in the 2003
bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, which left 12 people
dead.

Regret was also expressed by Ba'asyir's supporters, who said
the verdict against him was due to the influence by the U.S. and
its allies in Indonesia.

Students at the Ba'asyir-founded Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding
school in Ngruki, Central Java, said they were convinced that the
preacher would remain in jail even before the verdict was issued.

"Prophet Muhammad was also mocked and hurt by infidels when he
preached for Islam," explained a student from the school.

Al-Mukmin principal Wahyudin said the court decision was a
tyrannical and unjust act against Ba'asyir.

However, Mahyudin said Ba'asyir's students would not object to
the verdict and that they trusted the team of lawyers in doing
their utmost to defend the cleric.

"By dragging Ba'asyir into court, it shows how strong the
influence of the United States and its allies is in Indonesia.
Making Islam look negative in the eyes of the world has become a
key part of their agenda," Wahyudin said.