Post by wheelspinner on Jun 16, 2011 6:53:46 GMT -5
No need to invade Indonesia (or anywhere else), no need to suspend civil rights and set up a kangaroo court, no need to torture anybody, or to have the guy assassinated.
Just good old-fashioned letting the justice system do its job.
Terror leader Abu Bakar Bashir found guilty
Tom Allard
June 16, 2011 - 5:13PM
Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been found guilty of inciting terrorism and financing an Aceh-based terrorist cell and sentenced to 15 years in prison, ending a decade-long effort by authorities to put the firebrand militant who endorsed the Bali bombings behind bars.
Hundreds of Bashir's supporters, who chanted "God is great" as judges spent hours reading through a summary of evidence, erupted in jeers when the verdict was read out.
Bashir was convicted for arranging the financing of a terrorist cell uncovered in the Indonesian province of Aceh last year, a new grouping that included a who's who of the remnants of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah and other assorted militants.
Prosecutors said Bashir was the "emir" of figurehead of the group, and had held at least one planning meeting with Dulmatin, a senior figure in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence.
Amid an extraordinary security presence that included balaclava-clad snipers on nearby buildings, a defiant and beaming Bashir arrived at the court denouncing Australia and America, saying they wanted to "elimiinate" him because he was "fighting for Islam".
"Australia and America have a very big role ... in determining the court's verdict," Bashir said. "[They would] killl me if they can. If they can't, they just want to get me out of society."
He called on his supporters to keep up the fight for an Islamic state but stopped short of advocating violent retaliation if he was given a lengthy prison term.
"Don't be sympathetic to me, but carry out things on the way to Allah."
Maintaining his innocence before the verdict was read out, Bashir insisted "I am not a terrorist.
"If I helped in Aceh, then it is not wrong. It's in the Koran. It's a defence agains the war on Islam."
Among his supporters at the court were men wearing jackets emblazoned in Indonesian "Holy warrior, not terrorist".
One man leading the chanting was decked out in a shirt with Bashir's photograph printed on the front, and a large image of the former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on the back.
Bashir was implicated in the Bali atrocity as he co-founded Jemaah Islamiah and some of the members of the cell had attended his school. Bashir repeatedly praised the bombings and those involved as "holy warriors".
He labelled Australian and other foreign tourists who frequent Bali as "maggots".
But authorities failed in an attempt to bring him to justice on unrelated terrorism offences soon after the first Bali bombings in 2002 and Bashir only served a short term for "rebellion".
A second, later, attempt to convict him of conspiracy involving the Bali attacks also failed after an initial guilty verdict was overturned on appeal.
Before the verdict, Bashir said he would appeal against any finding of guilt against him.
It is feared the sentence could spark an angry response from the supporters, and authorities have been on high alert for the possibility of retaliation.
Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence for Bashir, who was accused of using the radical organisation which he now leads, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid, as a front to fund a terrorist cell and paramilitary camp found last year in a mountainous jungle area of Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra.
AAP reports: Reading out the verdict, the chief judge said the evidence presented in the case had proved the defendant had "incited others" to commit acts of terrorism by persuading them to undertake military training at the Aceh camp.
"As well, he persuaded them to commit violence, which led to the deaths of policemen, and which created an atmosphere of terror ... especially for the people of Aceh in general."
Bashir, the former spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the group responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings, has denied the charges throughout the trial, which began in February.
He has not denied knowing about the Aceh camp but has previously said the activities happening there were merely a type of training called idad, which all Muslims must undertake.
A large cache of ammunition and weapons, including AK-47 rifles, was found when the paramilitary camp was raided by police in February last year.
Read more: www.theage.com.au/world/terror-leader-abu-bakar-bashir-found-guilty-20110616-1g4yk.html#ixzz1PRGxf1hF
Just good old-fashioned letting the justice system do its job.
Terror leader Abu Bakar Bashir found guilty
Tom Allard
June 16, 2011 - 5:13PM
Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been found guilty of inciting terrorism and financing an Aceh-based terrorist cell and sentenced to 15 years in prison, ending a decade-long effort by authorities to put the firebrand militant who endorsed the Bali bombings behind bars.
Hundreds of Bashir's supporters, who chanted "God is great" as judges spent hours reading through a summary of evidence, erupted in jeers when the verdict was read out.
Bashir was convicted for arranging the financing of a terrorist cell uncovered in the Indonesian province of Aceh last year, a new grouping that included a who's who of the remnants of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiah and other assorted militants.
Prosecutors said Bashir was the "emir" of figurehead of the group, and had held at least one planning meeting with Dulmatin, a senior figure in the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence.
Amid an extraordinary security presence that included balaclava-clad snipers on nearby buildings, a defiant and beaming Bashir arrived at the court denouncing Australia and America, saying they wanted to "elimiinate" him because he was "fighting for Islam".
"Australia and America have a very big role ... in determining the court's verdict," Bashir said. "[They would] killl me if they can. If they can't, they just want to get me out of society."
He called on his supporters to keep up the fight for an Islamic state but stopped short of advocating violent retaliation if he was given a lengthy prison term.
"Don't be sympathetic to me, but carry out things on the way to Allah."
Maintaining his innocence before the verdict was read out, Bashir insisted "I am not a terrorist.
"If I helped in Aceh, then it is not wrong. It's in the Koran. It's a defence agains the war on Islam."
Among his supporters at the court were men wearing jackets emblazoned in Indonesian "Holy warrior, not terrorist".
One man leading the chanting was decked out in a shirt with Bashir's photograph printed on the front, and a large image of the former al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on the back.
Bashir was implicated in the Bali atrocity as he co-founded Jemaah Islamiah and some of the members of the cell had attended his school. Bashir repeatedly praised the bombings and those involved as "holy warriors".
He labelled Australian and other foreign tourists who frequent Bali as "maggots".
But authorities failed in an attempt to bring him to justice on unrelated terrorism offences soon after the first Bali bombings in 2002 and Bashir only served a short term for "rebellion".
A second, later, attempt to convict him of conspiracy involving the Bali attacks also failed after an initial guilty verdict was overturned on appeal.
Before the verdict, Bashir said he would appeal against any finding of guilt against him.
It is feared the sentence could spark an angry response from the supporters, and authorities have been on high alert for the possibility of retaliation.
Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence for Bashir, who was accused of using the radical organisation which he now leads, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid, as a front to fund a terrorist cell and paramilitary camp found last year in a mountainous jungle area of Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra.
AAP reports: Reading out the verdict, the chief judge said the evidence presented in the case had proved the defendant had "incited others" to commit acts of terrorism by persuading them to undertake military training at the Aceh camp.
"As well, he persuaded them to commit violence, which led to the deaths of policemen, and which created an atmosphere of terror ... especially for the people of Aceh in general."
Bashir, the former spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the group responsible for the 2002 Bali bombings, has denied the charges throughout the trial, which began in February.
He has not denied knowing about the Aceh camp but has previously said the activities happening there were merely a type of training called idad, which all Muslims must undertake.
A large cache of ammunition and weapons, including AK-47 rifles, was found when the paramilitary camp was raided by police in February last year.
Read more: www.theage.com.au/world/terror-leader-abu-bakar-bashir-found-guilty-20110616-1g4yk.html#ixzz1PRGxf1hF