Bali bomb suspect cleric in hospital

A RADICAL Islamic cleric suspected of a series of church bombings in Indonesia was in hospital yesterday and will not risk arrest by submitting to police for questioning.

Abu Bakar Bashir, 64, was taken into hospital for observation in his home city of Solo on Thursday night, hours before he was due to visit officers in the capital Jakarta.

Bashir is allegedly the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the group identified by many as the prime suspect in the Bali nightclub bombing. Bashir has respiratory problems according to a lung specialist. Bashir had earlier delivered a defiant sermon to about 300 followers, saying he expects to be arrested soon.