Controversial Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir plans to file for a case review after his appeal was recently overturned by the Supreme Court, the cleric's lawyer, M. Assegaf, said over the weekend.
Ba'asyir was found guilty of conspiring in terror activities, including his link to Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a mysterious organization that has been accused of orchestrating the 2002 Bali bombing and the 2003 JW Marriott hotel blast in Jakarta.
He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
Assegaf said he had not been officially notified by the Supreme Court about its verdict on his client's case, but he had discussed what further action to take with Ba'asyir.
"Appealing to the Supreme Court is the final legal move, but if there's a possibility for a review, which there is, we will request one," he told The Jakarta Post.
Asked what new evidence would be presented for the review, Assegaf said he would have to wait to read the official copies of the verdict, which was handed down last Wednesday, before preparing for the review.
"We first have to study the Supreme Court's considerations in overturning our appeal," he said.
Assegaf said Ba'asyir rejected the court's decision, which he said was an injustice against him, the leader of the Ngruki Islamic boarding school in East Java.
"From the very start of his case, (Ba'asyir) has consistently said that he is being oppressed, including by the intervention of the United States in his trials from the first time he was tried," he said.
Assegaf said his client believed there was a systematic effort to keep him behind bars by all means, especially after a controversial testimony claiming that a top U.S. official had requested that then president Megawati Soekarnoputri keep Ba'asyir in detention.
"The considerations used by the courts to declare Ba'syir guilty have always been vague. They insisted on accusing him of conspiring with Amrozi based on a conversation about bombing Bali they allegedly had, which Amrozi himself denied," said Assegaf.
Amrozi was one of the Bali bombers found guilty and is awaiting execution.
Sixty-six-year-old Ba'asyir was first brought to trial in 2003 on a similar charge, but he was cleared. However, he was found guilty of immigration offenses and served 18 months in jail.
He was immediately rearrested upon release after police claimed to have gathered new evidence on his role in JI and the terror attacks.
Taken from The Jakarta Post
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