Indonesian cleric may face death over bombings

JAKARTA - Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the accused leader of the Jemaah Islamiah militant group, could face the death penalty for his role in bombings in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

Bashir has been charged for planning a suicide bombing outside the US-run JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003 and for his role in the 2002 blasts on the holiday island of Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

"He is charged for planning out the bombing at the Marriott," Yunda Hasbi, a South Jakarta court official, told Reuters.

State prosecutor Andi Herman said the charges against Bashir over the Marriott bombing were brought under the tough anti-terror law Number 15, which carries death penalty.

Bashir was also charged under the criminal law Number 187 for his involvement in the Bali bombing, Herman said.

"He is charged for having a part in the Bali incident," Herman told Reuters without elaborating.

The maximum penalty under the criminal law no 187 is life sentence.

A new trial against Bashir could start within two weeks after prosecutors filed terrorism charges against him on Friday.

Bashir, who denies any links with Jemaah Islamiah (JI) or terrorism, was first arrested days after the Bali blasts amid suspicions he led JI and had ties to violent acts.

However, following a trial using the ordinary criminal code, the court said there was not enough evidence to prove Bashir led the group, and ultimately only convictions related to immigration violations were upheld in appeals courts.

After Bashir had served time on those convictions, Indonesian police detained Bashir under the anti-terror laws.

JI has been blamed not just for attacks in Indonesia, the world's fourth-most populous country, but for planned and actual violence throughout the region.

A car bomb outside Australia's embassy in Jakarta last month, which killed nine, is the latest attack intelligence experts blame on the group.

- REUTERS

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