Abu Bakar Bashir loses appeal against 15-year sentence for funding extremist training camp
Bashir thought to be a key figure in regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah, blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings
A jailed cleric regarded as the spiritual leader of militant Islam in Indonesia has lost an appeal against his conviction for funding an extremist training camp, an official said on Thursday.
Abu Bakar Bashir was thought to be a key figure in regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah, blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, including 11 Hong Kong rugby players.
The elderly, bespectacled preacher was sentenced to 15 years in jail in 2011 for helping fund a paramilitary group training in the staunchly Islamic province of Aceh, which allegedly planned to kill the then president as well as Westerners.
The 77-year-old was jailed after authorities in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country broke up the camp.
He launched a challenge against his conviction in January, with hundreds of chanting supporters staging a rally as he made a rare appearance in court at the start of the appeal.
The cleric’s legal team had argued that funds he collected were intended to help people in the Palestinian territories, but ended up getting sent to the Aceh group without his knowledge.