Indonesia to charge militant cleric as terror suspect

Indonesian police said they will charge detained militant Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir with terrorism, adding there was enough evidence for a conviction that could bring the death penalty.

The arrest of the 71-year-old, who police said was the leader of al-Qaeda in Indonesia, followed a series of raids and the capture of several members of an Aceh-based militant network that had plotted a coup this year to form a sharia state.

Indonesia's increased political stability and efforts to combat the risk of Islamic militancy, after deadly attacks on hotels in Jakarta last year, have been welcomed by investors who have poured into the country's bond and stock markets.

Bashir has escaped terror charges twice before, and spent time in prison for lesser charges such as immigration offences, but police are certain that they have a stronger case this time.

Edward Aritonang, a police spokesman, said late on Tuesday the police had documents showing Bashir was the leader of a group which calls itself al-Qaeda of Indonesia and which is the umbrella for four militant Islamic groups including Jemaah Islamiah (JI), Jema'ah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), Kompak, and Indonesia Islamic State (NII).

Bashir had played an active role in the planning of an militant training camp in western Aceh province discovered earlier this year, and had financed and given directions to JAT leaders to collect money for the camp, Aritonang said.

The money had came from various areas such as Jakarta and Bima, in West Nusa Tenggara, and mounted to billions of rupiah, a high-ranking police source said.

"We have been investigating for a long time and now we have testimonies from more than 10 people who said he was the mastermind," the police source said on Wednesday.

The cleric, who used to criss-cross the country giving sermons before his detention on Monday, had also recruited a young chemical expert to develop bombs in a laboratory in western Java, the police source said.

Bashir received regular reports from the Aceh camp, including video footage of training, and appointed leaders to operate it, police said.

Police have said the Aceh-based group had planned to assassinate president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other government officials at an independence day ceremony in Jakarta on August 17.

The police source said the threat of militant attacks on independence day next week has not been totally dismissed and police are monitoring communication channels the group may use. Yudhoyono on Tuesday asked for beefed up security.

Bashir, through his lawyers, has denied his involvement in terror attacks and has described his detention as an order of "the US, Israel and their lackeys".

Analysts said the police would be under huge pressure to produce solid evidence this time.

"If the government fails to prove their charges against him, it will make him a hero again. For now, there is no strong evidence to charge him, only from testimonies of suspected terrorists linked to Aceh," said Noor Huda Ismail, a security risk adviser to foreign firms investing in Indonesia.

Even if Bashir is convicted, the terror risk will not disappear in the world's most populous Muslim country, which must continue tracking down individuals from Islamic groups involved in illegal acts, said Jakarta-based security expert Sidney Jones.

"I don't think one man's arrest, even a man of Abu Bakar Bashir's profile, dramatically changes the security situation."