Muslim terrorist cleric sentenced to 15 years in prison

Indonesian terrorist, Abu Bakar Bashir, has been convicted of plotting to kill the country's president and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Bashir, a longtime controversial cleric, and now convicted terrorist, helped plan and fund a terrorist camp in Indonesia's western Aceh province.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Amid the sentencing, the country has been put on alert, to guard against acts of revenge from his followers or other sympathetic terrorists. Police have increased security around the courthouse with 2,900 officers and snipers posted around the area.

Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence, but 15 years was handed down instead. Still, the verdict has been hailed as just. Bashir has spent more than two years in prison previously, accused of inciting the 2002 Bali bombings that killed over 200 people, although he was eventually acquitted on appeal. His radical stance against the government and the West had has always attracted attention from the international community who has largely regarded him as a terrorist even before his formal conviction. His previous releases from custody have brought Indonesia under scrutiny as fears that he would eventually commit or inspire an act of violence continued.

While Bashir, who is 72, will functionally serve a life sentence (15 years), his lawyers have already announced their intention to appeal. Bashir contends that his conviction was wrongful because he was uninvolved in the activities of the terrorist camp, and according to him, the camp itself is a legal establishment under Indonesian law. Bashir's pending appeal is cause for international concern, and does not bring closure to the case, but rather a beginning. Bashir is well represented by an excellent legal team and has won his appeals before. There is some concern he will be released before serving his time and that he may resume terrorist activities.

Regardless of what happens to Bashir, terrorism in Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country, will surely continue. Terrorism has abounded in parts of Indonesia since 1948 and their general aim has been to destroy the secular government and replace it with an Islamic one. However, their prospects of success are regarded by most experts as slim. The nation has recently begun cracking down on extremist groups and has enjoyed significant success. In turn, the country has started to attract more tourists and foreign investment which has contributed to the nation's recent economic growth.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'