INDONESIA: Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir says a court ruling clearing him of any part in the 2002 Bali bombings is a 'blow' to West

Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir said on Saturday (December 23) that a court ruling clearing him of any part in the 2002 Bali bombings was a blow to the West and served as a warning that Western attempts to subjugate Indonesia would fail. Indonesia's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned Bashir's conviction for conspiracy in the bombings on the resort island, which killed 202, most of them foreign tourists. Australia, which lost 88 nationals in the attack, reacted angrily to the ruling. "This shows there are still some Indonesians, judges who have the courage to convey the truth. They have a nerve to say no to America and its allies. Even though all this time the West think that they can subjugate Indonesia," Bashir told Reuters in his madrassah. Bashir, 68, was released in June after completing 26 months of a 30-month jail sentence for being part of a conspiracy behind the nightclub bombings. Separately, a judge delayed a hearing on a review of the death sentences handed down against three Bali bombers, Amrozi - known as the 'smiling bomber' for his delight at the carnage -- Imam Samudra and Mukhlas, after the defence failed to appear. Chief Judge Nyoman Gede Wirya set a new hearing for January 11. Scheduled execution of the three men by firing squad was postponed in August after lawyers argued not all legal avenues had been exhausted. Bashir has consistently denied any connection to the Bali bombings or other attacks. He says that Western governments orchestrated his incarceration because of his campaign for Islamic law in predominantly-Muslim Indonesia. Western and regional intelligence officials say Bashir was the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asia militant group blamed for the Bali bombings and a string of other deadly attacks in Indonesia in recent years. The cleric said he had not decided whether to demand compensation for the time he had spent in jail. He also said was not keen on demanding that his name be rehabilitated. Australian Prime Minister John Howard said he was upset on behalf of the families of victims, but was powerless to intervene. Victims' families were furious. "The protest from John Howard is a normal reaction because the infidel is unwilling to see Muslims follow the Sharia law," said Bashir. Western nations, particularly Australia, previously protested against what they regarded as lenient treatment of Bashir by the judiciary.

ITN Source | December 24, 2006

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