Suspected terrorist Ba'asyir goes on trial for treason, bombings
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Central Jakarta District Court opened the trial on Wednesday of the alleged leader of regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiah (JI) on charges of treason.
Many view the trial as being a test case of the country's resolve to fight terrorism.
The prosecution in its 25-page indictment charged Ba'asyir, 64, with being the leader and mastermind of a treasonable conspiracy aimed at toppling the legitimate government and establishing an Islamic state in the country. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Ba'asyir, who is identified as the emir, or leader, of JI, was also charged with procuring fake identification papers, a charge that carries a maximum jail term of five years.
The police also announced on Wednesday they had arrested 17 JI members, including Nazar Abbas, the alleged leader of JI's third region covering Sabah, Brunei Darussalam, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and the Southern Philippines. Three of them have been implicated in the Bali bombings.
Around 500 police personnel were deployed around the trial venue -- the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMG) building in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta -- where some 300 supporters of Ba'asyir had gathered.
All visitors to the court were examined with a metal detector and asked to leave their identity cards with security officers before entering the building.
The Wednesday morning session of the trial, which is being presided over Justice Muhammad Saleh, started at 10 a.m. and ended at about 11.30 a.m.
"The defendant gave his blessing to the plan to bomb a number of Indonesian cities including the Christmas Eve 2000 bombings," stated prosecutor Hasan Madani said.
Nineteen people were killed and scores more injured when a spate of bombings hit dozens of churches across the country on Christmas Eve in 2000.
Reading out the indictment, Hasan said the bombings were designed to shake the government and to encourage Indonesian Muslims to wage jihad.
Ba'asyir was also accused of approving a plot to bomb U.S. interests in Singapore and ordering the assassination of President Megawati Soekarnoputri when she was still vice president.
Ba'asyir, wearing a long white robe and white skullcap, sat impassively throughout the session.
Asked by the judges if he understood the charges, Ba'asyir replied: "Yes, God willing." Asked if he would submit a defense plea, he said: "Later. I don't accept the charges."
"I strongly object to this trial. The whole thing is slander fabricated by the United States," Ba'asyir said after the hearing.
The trial will resume on April 30.
Pressure has been increasing for Indonesia to try suspected terrorists following the deadly Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002 that killed at least 202 people and injured 350 others. Before the bombings, the government denied JI's presence in the country and shrugged off foreign criticism that it was soft on terrorism.
Defense lawyer Mahendradatta said the indictment was just a rehashing of a document produced by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which had previously been published by TIME magazine.
The indictment, he said, also revived the dichotomy between Islam, the state ideology Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution.
Separately, Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Sukrawardi Dahlan disclosed that he had deployed about 500 police officers to guard the trial.
The bomb squad searched the courtroom before the hearing began while both regular and paramilitary police stood guard around the building.
Police closed the approach road to the court and two water cannon were stationed nearby.
About one hundred supporters, many of whom came from Ba'asyir's Islamic boarding school in Surakarta, Central Java, were on hand outside the court to provide moral support for Ba'asyir.
They unfurled banners reading: "A Muslim cleric is detained; the corrupt are protected", and "Who Is The Real Terrorist?"
Chronology of Ba'asyir detention ---------------------------------------------------------------- - Oct.20, 2002 : Ba'asyir was arrested, but was not put into detention from Oct. 20 through Nov.1, 2002.
- Nov.2 - Nov.21, 2002 : Put into detention.
- Nov.22 - Dec.31, 2002 : Detention extended by Jakarta Prosecutor's Office.
- Jan.1 - Jan.30, 2003 : Detention extended by South Jakarta District Court.
- Jan.31 - March 1, 2003: Detention extended by South Jakarta District Court.
- Feb.28 - March 19 2003: Detained by State Prosecutors
- March 20 - April 18 : Detention extended by South Jakarta District Court.
April 23 : Trial begins