Spiritual leader of extremist group sues Time magazine

The spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah extremist group today filed a €109m libel suit against Time magazine for a report claiming he is linked to terrorism.

Indonesia has come under intense pressure to arrest Abu Bakar Bashir since the Bali nightclub bombing killed at least 181 people on Saturday.

Many diplomats and regional experts suspect Jemaah Islamiyah, reportedly linked to al-Qaida, could have been responsible for the blast.

But Bashir has blamed the massacre on the CIA and denies Jemaah Islamiyah and al-Qaida even exist.

“I have not heard that there is a warrant for my arrest,” Bashir said. “The police have no basis for that arrest. It is like a witch hunt. They are cracking down on Muslim fundamentalists.”

The lawsuit filed today in Jakarta demands €101m in damages and the confiscation of Time’s office in the Indonesian capital.

Citing the CIA and regional intelligence reports, Time said al-Qaida-linked operative Omar al-Faruq allegedly told US authorities that Bashir took part in a plot to bomb US embassies in Southeast Asia on the anniversary of September 11.

The threats led to the closure of embassies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Time also said al-Faruq told US officials that Bashir was behind a 1999 bombing of Jakarta’s largest mosque and then blamed Christians for the act.

Bashir unsuccessfully sued the government of Singapore earlier this year for describing him as a terrorist leader.

Malaysia and Singapore have called for Bashir’s arrest ever since an alleged Jemaah Islamiyah plot to blow up Western targets in Singapore was uncovered this year.