Abu Bakar Bashir to meet Jakarta police

The leader of a Southeast Asian Muslim group suspected of involvement in the devastating Bali bombing will meet Indonesian police later this week, his brother said today.

Abu Bakar Bashir flatly denied implications yesterday that his group, Jemaah Islamiyah, was to blame for the attack that killed more than 180 people on the resort island.

Police have resisted calls to arrest the cleric, despite claims by neighbouring governments that Jemaah Islamiyah is linked to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida terrorist network.

But Bashir’s brother and spokesman, Umar Bashir, said Bashir would meet police in the capital Jakarta on Thursday morning.

Umar said his brother wanted to talk to officers about a defamation case he has brought against Time news magazine, which recently published allegations that implicated him in other terrorist activities.

It was not clear whether Bashir, who is based in the central Java city of Solo, would talk about the Bali bombing.

He has gained a growing following among some Indonesian Muslims by condemning the United States and the West and praising al-Qaida.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard today demanded the United Nations list Jemaah Islamiyah as a terrorist group.