Indonesian Cleric Charged With Treason

Militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist network, was charged with treason Monday for his alleged role in a series of church bombings that killed 19 people in 2000.

Prosecutors also charge that Bashir, 65, conspired with other members of Jemaah Islamiah to overthrow the government of Indonesia and establish an Islamic state, according to the indictment filed in a court in the capital, Jakarta.

Jemaah Islamiah, which is allegedly affiliated with Al Qaeda, is accused of carrying out the Oct. 12 Bali nightclub bombing that killed 202 people. Bashir, who had been identified by governments in the region as the leader of Jemaah Islamiah, was arrested shortly after the bombing, but investigators have been unable to link him to the attack.

Bashir denies any involvement in Jemaah Islamiah and contends that the group does not exist, but he has praised Osama bin Laden as “a true Muslim fighter.” He blames his arrest on pressure from the U.S.

The indictment alleges that Bashir is the “emir” of Jemaah Islamiah and authorized several terrorist attacks, including the church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000 and a plot to bomb foreign embassies in Singapore that was foiled in late 2001.

“The defendant is the leader and organizer of treason with the intent of toppling the government and fulfilling his intention of setting up the Islamic State of Indonesia,” the indictment says.

Achmad Michdan, an attorney for Bashir, said the charges are unfounded. The indictment, he said, is part of a campaign by the U.S. to bring down Muslim leaders, including Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

“The indictment against Abu Bakar Bashir doesn’t have significant evidence that he committed treason,” he said. “It seems there is a grand scenario not only to topple Abu Bakar Bashir but all Muslims. It is related to ... what the U.S. did to Saddam.”

Based on statements from an admitted Al Qaeda member arrested in Indonesia last year, police initially charged Bashir with involvement in a plot to assassinate President Megawati Sukarnoputri, but that charge was dropped.

Bashir has a long history of involvement in anti-government activities in Indonesia. He spent nearly four years in prison on subversion charges before fleeing to Malaysia in 1985. He returned to Indonesia in 1999 after the fall of President Suharto.

Throughout his travels, Bashir recruited Muslims to the cause of defending Islam through holy war. In 1978, he helped found a boarding school here in Central Java province that has been at the center of radical Islamic thought in Indonesia. He also was connected to at least two other boarding schools in Malaysia and Indonesia. Many alleged Jemaah Islamiah members were students or teachers at the schools, including at least 16 suspects in the Bali bombing.

Bashir’s trial could begin as soon as the end of the month, prosecutors said.

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Paddock reported from Tuaran, Malaysia, and Sudarsono from Solo.