Bashir and a Double Insult: Indonesia

I read an article in the Daily Telegraph yesterday and became so irate that I almost choked on my coffee. Radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir said that those killed in the 2002 Bali bombings had been destined to die by God and the families they have left behind should now convert to Islam.

What right has this ageing reprobate have to say such a cruel thing and continue the hurt and pain that exists in the families of those who lost loved ones in the bombing. It is distasteful and an insult.

Having carefully scrutinised this man's trial and subsequent release the other day, there was one thing I noticed. Before his trial and during it, he was wheeled in and out in a wheelchair. Upon his release he was wheeled out of Cipitang prison and his followers assisted him into the vehicle. But, on the early morning news I noticed that he is walking unaided amongst the throng of his followers when he arrived at his hometown in Central Java.

And now, adding insult to injury so to speak, Wirawaan Adnan, the legal adviser of Abu Bakar Bashir, has said that he has requested the government to carry out a review of Bashir's case which resulted in him being imprisoned for two years and six months. In the Tempo magazine article, Wirawaan said all charges against Ustad (cleric) such as terrorism and being the Bali bombing's mastermind are all slander.

The Indonesian justice system is far from perfect.