Abu Bakar Ba'asyir: US behind Terror Charges

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges and accused the United States and liberal Muslims of trying to frame him.

The 72-year-old has been accused of providing funding of more than $62,000 to a terrorist group dubbed Al-Qaeda in Aceh that was plotting attacks in Indonesia, and prosecutors have sought a maximum life sentence.

But in his formal response to the charges outlined in court last week, the pugnacious preacher said any allegation of terrorism against the Aceh militants was a plot by the enemies of Islam.

“Prosecutors should realise that all trials which judge and punish the mujahid in Aceh are manipulations by the people who don’t follow (Islamic law) to fulfil the interests of the US tyrant and its cronies,” he said.

Bashir is seen as a spiritual leader of Southeast Asian militants, but he denies any role in terrorist activity. “Because my rhetoric is considered dangerous, the dream of the US tyrant and its cronies could be realised with a life sentence,” he said.

He rejected the prosecution’s case that his radical organisation, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), was a front for terrorist activity. The bearded cleric admitted he raised money for members of the JAT community but not to pay for weapons and militant training, as claimed by the prosecution.

Hundreds of Bashir’s radical followers chanted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest) outside the court. Bashir served almost 26 months behind bars for the Bali bombings of 2002 that killed more than 200 people, but his conviction was overturned after his release in 2006. Prosecutors have also unsuccessfully charged him with involvement in church bombings in 2000 and an attack on the Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003.