Muslim cleric not cooperating with Indonesian police

A radical Muslim cleric has refused to discuss with police his alleged links to the terror group blamed for the Bali nightclub bombings.

Abu Bakar Bashir is accused of being the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, a group on the UN list of terrorist organisations.

It is the main suspect in the October 12 attacks that killed nearly 200 people on the Indonesian resort island.

Bashir is currently in a Jakarta hospital recovering from respiratory problems.

“Bashir is getting better, and he is ready for questioning,” said his lawyer, Ahmad Taufik. “But the police won’t get anything from him because he will keep silent,” he added.

“The police said that they have enough evidence, so we are asking them to prove their case. We ask them to show us anything they have.”

Bashir is not a suspect in the Bali attacks. Instead, police have accused him of ordering a string of church bombings in 2000 that killed 19 people and plotting the assassination of President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

In a brief interview on Jakarta’s Metro TV station, Bashir challenged Indonesia’s security chiefs to swear that his arrest was not the result of foreign pressure following the Bali bombings.

Bashir has denied any wrongdoing and claimed that he was being made a scapegoat.

“My detention is illegal. I will not accept it,” Bashir said, following a meeting with the staff of Vice President Hamzah Haz. “Indonesia’s Islamic society feels insulted by my detention.”

Police yesterday released composite sketches of three suspects in the Bali bombings, but have yet to arrest anyone.