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| Southeast Asia |
| Bashir sez case against him weak |
| 2004-06-07 |
| Lawyers for Indonesian terror suspect Abu Bakar Bashir say insufficient evidence exists to justify his arrest. A court hearing has begun of their petition for the release of the cleric. Police responded that their case against Bashir, accused of being the spiritual leader of the al Qaeda-linked Jemmy Islamic network, was well-documented, and said the cleric had a history of evading justice. "There is not enough preliminary evidence to make that arrest. Moreover, police did not show an arrest warrant nor notify the family before taking the action," said Munarman, a member of Bashir’s 80-strong legal team. "The arrest stemmed from intervention and pressure from foreign governments like the United States," Munarman said, arguing that the U.S. Ambassador in Indonesia had tried to persuade Muslim leaders to support the drive to keep Bashir locked up. Police lawyers said the warrant was given directly to Bashir who refused to take it. "The criminal violation linked to him has close ties to the bombings in Bali. The accusation was backed by witness testimony and incriminating files," said police lawyer Rudy Heryanto. "And subjectively, the accused has escaped before to evade the law when he fled to Malaysia." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |