Jakarta, June 26: A terror suspect detained in Singapore told an Indonesian court via teleconference today that Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir is the head of the al-Qaeda-linked terror group blamed for the Bali bombings. Faiz bin Abu Bakar Bafana was testifying in the trial of Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged head of regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah. Bashir is accused of treason and a series of church bombings in 2001.
Bashir's lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, objected to the televised testimony, claiming Bafana, who is in a Singapore prison, was forced to make it. The defence team then walked out of the court in protest.
Bafana told the court he joined Jemaah Islamiyah in 1986 and Bashir was at his swearing-in ceremony. He said that at the time another man, Abdullah Sugkar, was the group's leader but Bashir took over when he died in 2000.
The testimony is likely to come as a relief for prosecutors who have seen a string of other people they have put on the stand as witnesses say they know of no link between 64-year-old Bashir and Jemaah Islamiyah.
Bashir has denied all wrongdoing and says Jemaah Islamiyah does not exist. His arrest in the days after the October 12 Bali blasts came amid intense international pressure to crack on militant Islam. Jemaah Islamiyah has been blamed for the Bali bombings and 34 suspected members of the group have been arrested in connection with the blasts that killed 202 people, mainly foreign tourists. Bureau Report