Top Indonesian Terror Suspect Leaves Jail

Abu Bakar Bashir, the militant cleric alleged to be one of Southeast Asia’s top terrorist leaders, was freed from prison today after serving 25 months for his role in the bombings of two Bali nightclubs in 2002.

Bashir, 67, smiled and waved to more than 100 supporters who had gathered outside Jakarta’s Cipinang Prison to witness his release. “God is great!” the crowd shouted as he stepped out the prison gates.

Bashir, who has denied any role in terrorist activities, signaled that he would use his freedom to promote the adoption of strict Islamic law in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population but a secular government, and is among the most moderate Muslim nations.

“Thank you to God, and also to my lawyers and to my supporters who defended me for all this time,” Bashir said before getting into a waiting car. “By implementing Islamic law, people will survive in the world and in the afterlife. This is what should we do.”

Authorities have long maintained that Bashir is the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asian terrorism network with close ties to Al Qaeda, but prosecutors have had difficulty proving it in court.

Jemaah Islamiah, which seeks to turn much of Southeast Asia into an Islamic state, is believed to be responsible for dozens of bombings in Indonesia and the Philippines that have killed 250 people. But over the last three years, the group has become fragmented with the capture or killing of most of its top leaders and the arrest of dozens of members.

Terrorist cells spawned by the organization now appear to operate independently of a central command in Indonesia and the Philippines, the two countries where the group still poses a serious threat, terrorism experts say. Some Western officials are concerned that Bashir’s release could rejuvenate the group.

Bashir, having served his time and facing no restrictions on his movement, will be free to spread his view that Islam is under attack by the United States and that Muslims around the world must defend their religion, with violence if necessary.

“I am a big fan of Bashir,” said Jhon Dayat, 48, an Islamic songwriter from the nearby city of Tangerang who came to cheer the cleric’s release. “So far, I can’t see that Bashir is proven guilty. He is an old man, not a terrorist. I don’t like people to judge him as a terrorist. We have to clear his name.”

Dressed in his trademark white robe and white cap, with a red-and-white checkered scarf draped over his shoulders, Bashir appeared healthy after spending a total of more than 3 1/2 years behind bars, including time served for other offenses.

He plans to return to the Islamic boarding school he co-founded near the central Java city of Solo. The school, known as Pondok Ngruki for the village where it is located, was a key recruiting ground for Jemaah Islamiah and produced dozens of members, including some of its top leaders and participants in the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.

Bashir was arrested a week after the Oct. 12, 2002, attack, which was partly financed by the Al Qaeda terrorist network and carried out by two suicide bombers. He was found guilty in 2003 of treason and immigration violations. But an appeals court threw out the treason conviction and reduced his sentence to 18 months.

He was released in April 2004, only to be immediately rearrested outside prison, triggering a riot by his supporters. During a second trial, he was found guilty of taking part in a conspiracy to bomb the Bali nightclubs but acquitted of terrorism charges. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison but was let go nearly five months early because of good conduct.

The Bush administration once proposed kidnapping Bashir and removing him from the country in a practice called “extraordinary rendition,” but the Indonesian government rejected the idea, according to testimony at Bashir’s trial.

Later, the U.S. urged Indonesia to keep Bashir in prison longer. But Indonesian officials said they were hampered by Washington’s refusal to make available a key witness held by the U.S. in a secret location, Riduan Isamuddin, known as Hambali.

Arrested in Thailand in 2003, Hambali was a close Bashir associate, a top Al Qaeda lieutenant and alleged to be one of the Jemaah Islamiah masterminds of a string of deadly bombings. Police say Bashir gave his blessing to many of the bombings, and Hambali carried them out.

Bashir has consistently said Jemaah Islamiah does not exist and blames a sinister U.S. for waging a crusade against Islam.

“America’s aim in attacking Iraq is to attack Islam, so it is justified for Muslims to target America to defend themselves,” he told the Los Angeles Times during a 2004 prison interview. “The reason America wants me to stay in jail is because they are afraid of my preaching, not because of some bombing.”

Jouhana reported from Jakarta and Paddock from Singapore.