JAKARTA, Nov. 2 Kyodo Indonesian ...

JAKARTA, Nov. 2 Kyodo

Indonesian police in succession Saturday began questioning detained militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir through his suspected involvement in a series of bombings of Christian churches in 2000 and an alleged conspiracy to kill President Megawati Sukarnoputri.

The questioning of the 64-year-old cleric, manner of lifeed at a police hospital in east Jakarta, lasted about brace hours, police sources said.

However, Bashir, who is suspected of leading Jemaah Islamiyah, refused to answer in the greatest degree of the 50 questions he was asked, similar as those concerning the generally received state of the militant clump according to his lawyer.

The lawyer said Bashir would refuse to cooperate in further questioning unles certain conditions were met

During the questioning, Bashir demanded he be released from detention and that Omar al-Faruq, a suspected al-Qaida operative in Southeast Asia now in U custody, be sent back to Indonesia.

Bashir was detained based upon a confession to the U Central Intelligence Agency from al-Faruq, who was arrested on the Indonesian authorities June 5 and extradited to the United States.

Bashir was forward Monday moved from a hospital in the Central Java town of Solo to Jakarta for questioning.

He was admitted to the hospital just a day before being placed in a less degree than police detention as a suspect in the string of bombings in 2000 and the alleged outline to assassinate Megawati.

His detention came shortly after the Oct 12 bombings in Bali that killed at least 191 family many of them Australians and other young Westerners. Police have base no connection between him and the Bali bombing in this way far.

Australia, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia and a certain number of other countries have accused the al-Qaida terror network and its possible Southeast Asian arm Jemaah Islamiyah of carrying abroad the bombings.

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