Suspected Militant Chief Jailed for Hiding Bali Bomb

By Achmad Sukarsono

JAKARTA (Reuters) - An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced an Islamic teacher, believed to have been a leader of the most feared militant group in Southeast Asia, to 3 1/2 years in jail for hiding one of the Bali bombers.

Abu Rusydan, who is believed by authorities to have taken over cleric Abu Bakar Bashir's role as leader of the shadowy Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group six months before the deadly 2002 Bali bombings, was found guilty of involvement in acts of terror.

Prosecutors had asked for nine years in jail for Rusydan.

"The defendant has been proven guilty of purposely carrying out acts of terror by giving leeway to a terror suspect and hiding information on a terror crime," Judge Machmud Rochimi told the South Jakarta Court.

Some 200 supporters of the 43-year-old Central Java religious teacher chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) after the verdict was read out and punched their fists in the air.

The judge said that at a meeting shortly after the Bali incident, Rusydan, as caretaker leader of Jemaah Islamiah, received reports from the group's regional chiefs, including Mukhlas, the top controller of attacks on the island that killed 202 people.

The judge said witnesses testified that Mukhlas admitted his Bali bombing role during that meeting.

Rusydan, dressed in a gray Muslim shirt and brown cap, criticized the sentence as an injustice and said he would appeal.

JI NOT BANNED IN INDONESIA

Prosecutors say Rusydan became JI caretaker after Bashir took over leadership of the Indonesian Mujahidin Council, a hard-line Islamic group advocating full implementation of Islamic sharia law in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

During his trial Rusydan admitted he led the meeting shortly after the Bali blasts and helped Bashir but denied he had anything to do with a terror organization.

Police have blamed several deadly attacks in the country, including the Bali bombings, on Jemaah Islamiah, but Jakarta has not ruled the group an illegal organization.

A separate Jakarta court in September last year found Bashir guilty of treason and various immigration offences and sentenced him to four years. A higher court later acquitted him of treason and reduced his jail term to three years.

About 30 people, including many accused of being JI members, have been convicted for their role in the Bali attacks, the worst since the September 11, 2001 strikes on the United States.

Three, including Mukhlas, have been sentenced to death.