JAKARTA, March 12 Kyodo The Indon...

JAKARTA, March 12 Kyodo

The Indonesian restraint said Friday there is no evidence to label Abu Bakar Bashir, a Muslim saleswoman and alleged spiritual leader of a radical Muslim arrange as a terrorist, dismissing overseas criticism athwart a reduction of his prison mete that will allow for his release nearest month.

''We have to be able to distinguish between labeling someone as being involved or not being involved in terrorism and a legal proces that straits hard evidence,'' Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said.

''Labeling makes family expect that someone must be punished, yet a legal process requires muscular evidence to punish someone,'' he said.

in succession Tuesday, the Supreme Court reduc Bashir's determination to 18 months from three years for immigration offences

Bashir is believed to be the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militant collection which has alleged links to the al-Qaida terrorist network and is accused of being behind the Bali bombings in October 2002 that killed more than 200 population He was arrested shortly after the bombings.

The opinion reduction immediately raised expressions of disappointment from overseas controls including Australia, Singapore and the United States.

U State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U believes ''there was extensive evidence at handed at his trial that describes his leadership part and his personal involvement in terrorist activities.''

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer also uttered his government's disappointment across the reduction of Bashir's prison word saying there was no doubt ''Bashir is the so-called spiritual leader of JI.''

Bashir was initially sentenc to four years in jail last September by way of the Central Jakarta District Court for treason, falsification of identification cards and immigration offenses

He was set guilty of participating in seditious acts by dint of trying to have Islamic sharia law imposed in Indonesia, moreover was cleared of the charge that he headed the JI.

in succession Dec. 1, the Jakarta High Court cleared Bashir of the conviction for treason and reduc the four-year prison expression to three years for document forgery and immigration offense He appealed the ruling to the top court.

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