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| Southeast Asia |
| Indonesian cleric ’is militant chief’ |
| 2003-06-26 |
| A suspected Islamic militant has told an Indonesian court that Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir is the leader of the extremist group blamed for last year's Bali bombings. Giving evidence via a television link from Singapore, Faiz bin Abu Bakar Bafana said that Mr Ba'asyir had become the head of Jemaah Islamiah (JI) in 2000, following the death of the previous leader, Abdullah Sugkar. Mr Bafana said the cleric had also approved a series of church bomb attacks in 2000, and plotted the assassination of Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Prosecutors say Mr Ba'asyir, who denies that JI even exists, authorised the church bombings. He also stands accused of planning to overthrow the Jakarta Government to establish an Islamic state. While he has not been named as a suspect in the Bali bombings, many Indonesian officials suspect him of involvement, and several key Bali suspects have been called to testify at his trial. Mr Bafana, a Malaysian who is in detention in Singapore, is the first foreigner to give evidence. His testimony is likely to come as a welcome relief to prosecutors, correspondents say. So far, most of the witnesses called to testify against the cleric have failed to link Abu Bakar Ba'asyir with JI, and to implicate him in any bomb attacks. Mr Bafana told the court he had joined JI in 1986, and that Mr Ba'asyir was at his swearing-in ceremony. He said he had visited the cleric in his hometown of Solo in central Java, and was accompanied by Riduan Isamuddin, also known as Hambali, who is thought to be a senior JI figure and is still at large. Mr Bafana said that Mr Ba'asyir had been like a father to him, and that he was upset to see the elderly preacher on trial. Guess they're not that close if he's testifying He admitted that Mr Ba'asyir had approved the church attacks, but said the cleric "did not ask us to do it, he only suggested targets were in line with the objectives." Mr Bafana was arrested in 2001 and is being held indefinitely in Singapore under the country's Internal Security Act. Two other suspected Islamic militants held in Singapore are expected to testify in Mr Ba'asyir's trial later today. The cleric's lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, has objected to the televised testimony of foreign witnesses such as Mr Bafana. "This witness statement is clearly given under duress," Mr Assegaf said of Mr Bafana's comments. "Lies, all lies!" The defence team eventually walked out of the court in protest, accompanied by cheers from Mr Ba'asyir's supporters. |
| Posted by:Steve |