Indonesian Cleric Arrested - Ties to Terrorism

AP Photo/Irwin Ferdiansyah

 

 

Abu Bakar Bashir, 72, was arrested for his connection to terrorism with al-Qaida. He has been arrested before so, he is no stranger to prison. While being taken into custody by the Indonesian government, he said, "This arrest is a blessing ... I will be rewarded by Allah!" 

 

The fiery 72-year-old is best known as one of the co-founders and spiritual head of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida-linked network responsible for a string of suicide bombings in the world's most populous Muslim nation, including the 2002 attacks on Bali island that killed 202 people, most of them Western tourists.

Despite Bashir's denial, he has now been directly linked to terror acts and considered a leader- helping to move plans forward.

Recently, Bashir formed a new radical movement, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid, or JAT, described by the Brussels-based International Crisis Group as an "ostensibly above-ground organization" that embraced individuals with known ties to fugitive extremists.

Bashir came under renewed police scrutiny in May after three JAT members were arrested for allegedly raising funds for al-Qaida in Aceh.

The cell was accused of planning gun attacks on luxury hotels in the capital in an alleged plot reminiscent of the attacks in India's financial center of Mumbai, where 10 gunmen rampaged through the city in 2008 and killed 166 people.

Charges from the polices, have to be filed in one week.