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