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| Southeast Asia |
| Bashir verdict on March 3 |
| 2005-02-25 |
| An Indonesian court is due next week to deliver its verdict in the terrorism trial of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, charged with a series of attacks including the 2002 Bali bombings, a judge said on Friday. The 66-year-old theoretically faces a possible death sentence if convicted, although prosecutors have demanded only an eight-year jail term. The sentence will be delivered on March 3, chief judge Sudarto said. The cleric faces terrorist charges through his alleged leadership of the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah group. The prosecution has accused Bashir of failing to prevent Jemaah Islamiyah militants allegedly under his leadership from carrying out attacks, including the Bali bombings, in which more than 200 people were killed. Bashir has rejected the charges, accusing US President George W. Bush of being behind the allegations to prevent him from campaigning for Islamic law, or Sharia. Prosecutors dropped a primary charge that Bashir and his supporters actually planned the attacks or that Bashir incited his followers to engage in terrorism, citing a lack of evidence. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |