Bali bomber's sentence not reduced
Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual head of an al-Qaida-linked terror group, will not have his prison sentence reduced to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the Indonesian government said today.
Indonesia traditionally cuts prison terms on national holidays – usually by several months – for inmates who exhibit good behaviour, including convicted terrorists.
Only those sentenced to death or life in prison are excluded.
Bashir, who was convicted in March for playing a role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, responded to the news by lashing out at Australia, accusing it of interfering in Indonesia’s judicial process, a supporter said.
Australia lost 88 citizens in the twin nightclub blasts and has repeatedly said the 67-year-old Muslim cleric’s original 30-month sentence was already too short, and should not be reduced any further.
Bashir, who is bitterly anti-Western, is already scheduled to walk free in June.
Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin said a request by prison wardens to take another month off Bashir’s jail time had been denied, though he did not say why.
“No. He did not get it,” Awaluddin repeatedly told reporters after performing morning prayers today, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
Millions of Muslims thronged to mosques across the sprawling archipelago as part of the celebrations.
Authorities also requested sentence reductions for 27 other convicted Bali bombers, but it was not clear today if they were among the 39,348 of 58,775 inmates to get them.
For days, Indonesian authorities have said Bashir’s sentence would likely be cut – despite foreign opposition to the move.
But Fauzan al-Ansori, a member of Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia, an Islamic group founded by Bashir, said in the end Australia won.
“Bashir condemned the Australian government for intervening once again in Indonesia’s legal affairs,” he said, adding that at the same time the cleric also called on his supporters to accept the government’s decision.
Most of Indonesia’s more than 190 million Muslims practice a tolerant version of the faith, but hard-line groups are increasingly making inroads and Bashir has many supporters.
Angry protesters have in the past taken to the streets when they were dissatisfied with decisions that went against Bashir, sometimes clashing with police or throwing rocks at stores.
Bashir is alleged to be the spiritual leader of the militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, which is suspected in several other deadly attacks in Indonesia, including the 2003 J.W. Marriott hotel bombing that killed 12 people, and the September 2004 Australian Embassy bombing that killed 11.
