Bashir Would Face Death Penalty over Charges

21/10/2002| IslamWeb

A Muslim religious leader detained as Indonesia moves to crack down on terrorism after bomb blasts in Bali faced allegations Monday, including a plot to assassinate President Megawati Sukarnoputri, that could bring him execution.
Achmad Michdan, a lawyer for Abu Bakar Bashir, told Reuters the alleged plot, when Megawati was vice president, was listed in a police letter, handed to Bashir in hospital, which also said he was involved in several Jakarta bombings over the last few years.

The Indonesian government detained the high-profile Bashir Friday as it announced new anti-terror regulations following the October 12 Bali explosions that killed almost 200 people.

Neighboring countries have long pegged Bashir as a leader of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah, which they hold responsible for planned terrorist acts throughout the region, and pressed Jakarta to arrest him.

The letter to Bashir, which does not mention the Bali bombings, said he would also be questioned about the illegal possession of firearms and explosives by alleged associates.

If he were tried and convicted, Bashir, who denies any involvement in terrorism, would face the death penalty on each crime.

The move against Bashir and new anti-terrorism decrees have prompted fears of a backlash from Muslims in Indonesia -- 85 percent of its 210 million people -- where even moderates fear the U.S.-led war on terror could be used as an attack on Islam.

Some countries, notably Australia, which suffered the highest number of victims in Bali, have told their citizens to think about leaving Indonesia.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Bashir's detention was one reason Canberra strengthened its travel warning Monday, saying it "could lead to a strong reaction from his supporters and other extremist organizations."

NO BIG RUSH

However, Indonesia's largest Islamic groups said Sunday they supported the new anti-terror decrees, while urging the government to use them judiciously, and the travel warnings did not appear to have sparked a rush for Jakarta airport.

Australia's national carrier Qantas said it added two extra flights Friday and Saturday, but fewer than 50 of the 220 seats available on each were filled.

"In fact, people seem to be cancelling their trips rather than rushing to take trips. We're getting a higher-than-expected level of no shows," Qantas Indonesia General Manager Jeff Brown told Reuters.

A Jakarta-based Western security specialist said a recent survey by the American Chamber of Commerce showed only about three percent of those surveyed felt they would move.

A Western diplomat said the Bali bombs had made it easier for the government to move against Bashir without risking violence in the streets of a country whose relatively few extremists are capable of organizing large-scale demonstrations.

"Whereas, previously the arrest of Bashir might cause quite a big ruction, he doesn't have quite as much room to maneuver" since the carnage in Bali, she said.

The Western security analyst said he was "relatively confident that the backlash will be curtailed." What's more, he added, the Indonesian security forces had made it plain they would be "very, very quick to jump on organizations that either break the law or disturb the peace in any way, shape or form."

INTELLIGENCE BOOST

Nevertheless, Australia said it would boost its intelligence presence in Indonesia swiftly and told its citizens the threat against Australians was high.

"We have received reports that certain upmarket entertainment areas may be targeted," Downer told parliament.

The renewed travel warning said Australians should avoid places frequented by foreigners, including major tourist attractions like Borobudur, the World Heritage listed Buddhist temple site in central Java.

A senior Australian policeman, one of more than 100 foreign investigators probing the Bali blasts, said a new theory that there had been three bombs, not the two thought earlier, had proved wrong.

"The original thought that there were three bomb blasts has been discounted," said Superintendent Brett Swan.

Some officials in Indonesia and several other countries have pointed the finger at al Qaeda, blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, and its regional affiliate Jemaah Islamiah.

Bashir has suggested the United States was behind the Bali attack in an effort to discredit Islam.

Monday, Bashir, who says he is just an Islamic teacher, was still in hospital in Solo, on the main island of Java. Doctors say he has respiratory, heart and ulcer problems and police are waiting for him to be fit enough to be questioned.

PHOTO CAPTION

Indonesian Muslim religious leader Abu Bakar Bashir lies receives guests as he lies in his hospital bed in Solo, Central Java October 21, 2002. Bashir, under detention in hospital, is suspected of taking part in an assassination plot against President Megawati Sukarnoputri, one of his lawyers said on Monday. Achmad Michdan told Reuters the allegation was listed in a police letter handed to Bashir in a hospital in Solo in central Java explaining his detention. REUTERS/Solopos/Pool