More witnesses deny Ba'asyir role in bombings

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Prosecutors' efforts to implicate Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in two major bombings in the country hit further snags on Thursday as six convicted militants denied ever being directed or encouraged to engage in terrorism by the Muslim cleric.

The six witnesses, who have received prison terms for their involvement in a number of bomb attacks, also denied knowledge about the cleric's role in Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), an al-Qaeda- linked regional terror group blamed for a series of bombings in the country.

Some of them even claimed to have no idea at all about the organization.

The six, with an addition of a victim witness, were all called by the prosecution.

"This is a complete waste. Ever since this trial began, none of their witnesses have been able to link Ba'asyir with the attacks. The prosecutors have failed, yet they're still forcing it," Ba'asyir's lawyer, M. Assegaff, said.

Thursday's hearing was the third to hear testimony from witnesses, with most of them admitting they had known Ba'asyir but claiming they had never been assisted by him. A total of 18 out of the planned 76 prosecution witnesses have been called to the stand so far.

Ba'asyir is accused of inciting his followers to carry out terrorist attacks, including the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and the 2003 attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in South Jakarta, which claimed 12 lives.

He was cleared last year by the Central Jakarta District Court of leading JI, but was declared guilty of immigration offenses and given 18 months in jail.

The cleric was directly rearrested as soon as his prison term ended in April after police said they had new evidence on his involvement in JI and the bomb attacks.

Among those called to the stand on Thursday were Bali bomber Idris alias Mohammad Iksan, and Rusman Gunawan, the younger brother of alleged top JI member Riduan Ishamuddin or Hambali, who is now in U.S. custody.

Gunawan told the court he stopped in Malaysia on his way to Pakistan and heard Ba'asyir give a sermon in November 1999. But when asked if the cleric incited jihad, or holy war, Gunawan replied, "Not once. The speech only touched upon the importance of praying and fasting."

Also called to testify were Adhi Suryana alias Qittal, Hutomo alias Abu Farouk and Sanusi Farid Mustofa, all of whom have been convicted for either funding or harboring fugitive terrorist suspects.

Chief prosecutor Salman Maryadi, however, remained optimistic of winning the case, saying there were a number of key witnesses still to come who would prove beyond doubt Ba'asyir's involvement in terror activities.

"These are just the preliminaries. We have a group of witnesses who will affirm everything we have accused him of. Today, we know that JI does exist and it has structural posts," he said.

Salman refused to comment, however, on Assegaff's statement that the witnesses had actually never known about JI until the police informed them about it and planted the idea in their heads.

The presiding judge, Sudarto, adjourned the trial until Dec. 16, when more prosecution witnesses will be called.