Supreme Court reduction to free Ba'asyir in April

M. Taufiqurrahman and Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who is serving his sentence at Cipinang Penitentiary, Central Jakarta, is likely to walk free next month following the Supreme Court's reduction of his three-year sentence to a retroactive 18-month term.

The reduction is effective immediately.

"The Supreme Court decided that the verdicts from the lower courts were flawed, as the law was not properly applied," Central Jakarta District Court bailiff Ridwan quoted from the 93-page verdict.

The Supreme Court also annulled a high court ruling that said Ba'asyir and cleric Abdullah Sungkar had set up regional terror organization Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

Ba'asyir, 65, is believed to be the spiritual leader of JI, a UN-listed terror network linked with al-Qaeda. JI has been blamed for a series of deadly bombings in the country, including the October 2002 Bali blast and the Aug. 5, 2003, Marriott bombing in South Jakarta.

The cleric had been detained since October 2002, but was declared unfit to stand trial as he was hospitalized in Surakarta, Central Java.

Also the head of Islamic boarding school Al-Mukmin in Ngruki, Surakarta, he first stood trial in April 2003 on several charges, including a 1999 plot to assassinate then-vice president Megawati Soekarnoputri.

The Central Jakarta District Court handed down a four-year sentence, finding him guilty of document fraud and immigration violations. Last November, the Jakarta High Court reduced his sentence to three years.

The Supreme Court's decision comes amid protests from the cleric's supporters, who have long demanded his release, and which intensified after the Supreme Court acquitted House Speaker Akbar Tandjung of all charges in a graft case.

Separately, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirajuda played down possibilities that the decision would have a negative impact on the country's fight against terrorism.

"Our commitment is to capture anyone suspected of carrying out terrorist acts, whether or not they are connected to Ba'asyir," he said.

Australia was the first to react to the verdict.

"My reaction, if it's (the verdict) true, will be one of real disappointment," Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said as quoted by DPA. "I know the Indonesian government was really concerned about the three-year sentence ... that it was such a short sentence, and were looking (to see) if they could do anything about it, which they haven't been able to do."