Jakarta: The trial of a firebrand Indonesian Islamic cleric on terror charges opened on Thursday and was swiftly adjourned on a technicality.
Abu Bakar Bashir, spiritual leader of the outlawed southeast Asian militant network Jemaah Islamiah, faces fresh charges that carry the death penalty in a trial which refocuses attention on Indonesia`s fight against Islamic terror groups.
Indonesia has won praise for largely defeating Islamic terror, but analysts and rights groups are concerned a recent spike in religious intolerance shows extremism still has a hold on the world`s most populous Muslim nation.
The trial opened under tight security in the capital, but was adjourned until Monday after judges granted a defence request for a postponement on technical grounds.
Foreign investment has poured into Indonesia`s bond and stock markets thanks to improved political stability and successful efforts to combat Islamic militancy since the last significant attack -- the bombing of two hotels in Jakarta in 2009.
But this week has twice seen mobs of youths running riot in the name of defending Islam -- first killing three members of the Ahmadiyya sect are considered heretical by mainstream Muslims, and then torching two churches to protest against the perceived light sentence of a Catholic accused of blasphemy.
Despite no significant terror attacks in Indonesia for nearly two years, security in the capital is pervasive, with checkpoints placed at the entrance of all major shopping malls, hotels, embassies and government buildings.
Wednesday`s trial will be the third for the frail 72-year-old Bashir, who is officially the caretaker of an Islamic boarding school on Java island but has long been considered the spiritual leader of the shadowy Jemmah Islamiah movement, which seeks to establish a Muslim caliphate across Southeast Asia.
He was found not guilty of terror offences in two previous trials that attempted to link him to the 2002 Bali bombings, but only spent time in prison for lesser charges such as immigration offences.
On Thursday, scores of his supporters filled the public gallery of a south Jakarta courtroom, waiting for him to be brought to the dock where he will be charged with helping establish a terror training camp and funding terror organisations -- offences which carry the death penalty.
Bashir is also the "Amir" of above-ground Jema`ah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) Islamic group, which draws support from thousands of often unemployed youths who attend public rallies and sermons by firebrand preachers. Their ranks have provided recruits for even more radical organizations with links to Jemaah Islamiah and al Qaeda.
Analysts say that if Bashir is found guilty he would more likely face a long jail term than execution.
But they say the threat remains of other terror groups forming across the archipelago of over 17,000 islands which are home to around 240 million people, most of them moderate Muslims."Bashir is an important figure and there is stronger evidence against him this time," said Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group (ICG).
"But locking him away does not change the security situation here -- there are still small groups, some with no connection to Bashir, that could carry out attacks.”
"The difficult problem is not so much the terrorists but the radical civil society activists who preach intolerance and incite violence against religious minorities. The government has been firm against terrorists but it has allowed religious intolerance to escalate out of control."
Bureau Report
