Prosecutors brought to court on Monday an Indonesian teacher, considered by police as the chief of a Southeast Asian Muslim militant network, saying he was the group's caretaker and charging him with hiding a Bali bomber. The prosecution said Abu Rusydan, a religious teacher from Central Java, temporarily took over the role of Abu Bakar Bashir as the leader of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI)six months before the deadly Bali bombings. "The defendant was chosen as the day-to-day caretaker of JI's emir" in a meeting of Muslim militants in a resort area in West Java province, state prosecutor Haryono said. However, the charges against Rusydan mainly centred on his role in hiding Mukhlas, the top controller of the Bali blast operation. Prosecutors said Rusydan met Mukhlas five days after the Bali bombings at a gathering in a remote Central Java town. "Mukhlas said 'the perpetrators of the Bali bombings were us'", Haryono said. "After the meeting on October 17, 2002, the defendant did not report to the authorities that one of the Bali bombing perpetrators was Mukhlas."
| Gotcha.Inconvenient, when Mukhlas admits to it, ain't it? |
Rusydan has denied he had become the temporary leader of JI. "If they say that I am a member of JI, for example, which JI (do they refer to)?" he asked prosectors.
Defence lawyer Achmad Michdan, told reporters that while his client is accused over an October 17 meeting, Mukhlas was not declared a wanted person until November 8.
| But the holy man had knowledge that he blew the night club before that. |
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