http://digbig.com/4jggq
Jeannie Shawl
"Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official website] said that the country was "extremely disappointed" and "distressed" at the release from prison of Abu Bakar Bashir [BBC profile], the Indonesian Muslim cleric jailed in connection to the 2002 Bali bombings [BBC backgrounder]. Bashir was released after serving 26 months in prison following his conviction on conspiracy charges [JURIST report]. Bashir is accused of being the spiritual leader of the Southeast Asian extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah [Wikipedia profile], which has ties to al Qaeda and has been blamed for the bombings in Bali in 2002 and 2005. Eighty-eight of the over 200 people killed in the 2002 bombings were Australian and Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer [official website] called for restrictions [transcript] on Bashir's travel and financial assets. [..] At the time, Australia condemned the reduction in sentence, prompting Bashir's lawyers to criticize Australian interference with Indonesian affairs [JURIST report]. BBC News has more."
