Lawyers urge Ba'asyir's release

Lawyers urge Ba'asyir's release

JAKARTA: The team of lawyers representing Muslim cleric Abu
Bakar Ba'asyir urged the government to release their client on
April 28 and reject the use of information from U.S. intelligence
sources that may be used to open another case against him.

In a press statement released on Wednesday, the team, led by
Adnan Buyung Nasution, reminded the government of the
Antiterrorism Law, which states that only information from
Indonesia's intelligence agencies is admissible to prosecute a
suspect.

The Central Jakarta District Court handed down a four-year
sentence last year for document fraud and immigration violations,
but failed to prove his role in an alleged plot to assassinate
then vice president Megawati Soekarnoputri in 1999.

The Jakarta High Court reduced this sentence to three years
and last month the Supreme Court cut it further to 18 months. The
cleric will complete his sentence on April 28.

Ba'asyir was arrested on Oct. 28, 2002, while receiving
treatment at Muhammadyah Hospital in Surakarta, Central Java on
Nov. 2, 2002.

He is believed to be the spiritual leader of Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI), which was blamed for the October 2002 Bali blasts and the
August 2003 JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta. -- JP