'New JI leader' on trial in Jakarta

Abu Rusdan denied that JI existed

A man suspected of taking over the spiritual leadership of a key South East Asian terrorist network has gone on trial in Indonesia.

Abu Rusdan is not charged over his alleged links with Jemaah Islamiah, blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings.

Instead he is accused of helping two suspects wanted in connection with the attacks, which killed 202 people.

The trial was adjourned after lawyers said they needed time to read the file.

Abu Rusdan told reporters outside the Jakarta courtroom that he was feeling fine and was confident that his defence team would prove the charges against him were the result of what he called "foreign intervention".

He denied playing a part in the Bali bombings and also denied that Jemaah Islamiah (JI) existed.

Leadership change

"Jemaah Islamiah does not exist as a formal organisation nor does it exist as an underground organisation," he said.

The prosecution has accused him of hiding two Bali bombing suspects when they were on the run from police, including Ali Gufron, also known as Mukhlas.

If found guilty, Abu Rusdan, 43, faces up to 15 years in jail.

The indictment also alleged that Abu Rusdan took over the spiritual leadership of the radical Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) after the arrest of the Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

JI is widely believed to have been behind both the Bali attack and the Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta.

Abu Bakar Ba'asyir was found guilty of subversion in early September, but the judges ruled there was not enough evidence to show that he was ever a leader of JI.

The BBC's Jakarta correspondent, Rachel Harvey, says it is an extremely difficult point to prove, which is perhaps why prosecutors in the case of Abu Rusdan are concentrating on the lesser charge of harbouring fugitives.

They will now have to wait until Monday to make their case.

Defence lawyers managed to get a postponement, because they say they have only just received a copy of the case file and now need time to consider it.