Abu Bakar Bashir Freed Today: Jakarta, Indonesia

After reclining and relaxing in a comfy jail cell for the last 25 months of his life convicted cleric Abu Bakar Bashir walked free today. Many westerners are angered at this short sentence for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings in Kuta, Bali and rightly so.

Abu Bakar Bashir is seen by the West as the spiritual head of the al Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiah regional militant network. Bashir was convicted of being part of a conspiracy behind the Bali bombings that killed 202 people, many of them Australian tourists. Southeast Asian and Western authorities blame the group for the Indonesian resort island attack and other strikes in the region.

And now Indonesian intelligence agencies believe Abu Bakar Bashir was and perhaps still is the leader of radical network JI. Bashir is viewed within Indonesia as a charismatic and influential Muslim leader. He has a reputation for violent anti-Western rhetoric. Members of JI are accused of being behind a number of operations in Indonesia including two suicide attacks in Jakarta. But most of these attacks took place while Abu Bakar Bashir was in prison and he denies JI even exists.

Reports indicate that upon leaving prison he was wearing his trademark white skullcap and shawl. A smiling Bashir was surrounded by supporters shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest). He was Quoted as saying "I will maintain my struggle to uphold sharia (Islamic law), he added, before getting into a black van. The 68 year old cleric has said that once released he planned to return to the boarding school he founded and to continue teaching.

Hundreds of Bashir supporters from hardline Muslim groups were outside the jail to welcome him. Scores of police were also on hand and security was tight but the crowd quickly dissipated once the cleric had left. Some planned to join a motorcade expected to take Bashir back to his school.

He claims he was the victim of an American-inspired plot to undermine Islam. Yeah right!. Whatever the case and with personal opinions aside, he should have received the same sentence as his fellow henchmen. Which reminds me, they were supposed to be executed last September. Go figure.