Jakarta declares cleric terror suspect

Ba'asyir was due to be freed on 30 April

Indonesian police have said radical Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir will be questioned in connection with terrorism offences.

The police did not specify what new charges might be brought against him.

But in the past he has been accused of spiritually leading Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a South-East Asian militant group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings.

Ba'asyir, who is currently in detention in Indonesia for immigration offences, denies connections with JI.

The 65-year-old cleric was due to be released at the end of April.

But terrorism charges against him mean that police can now hold him for up to six months while they investigate further.

ABU BAKAR BA'ASYIR Taught at Islamic school Arrested a week after the Oct 2002 Bali bombings Sept 2003 - found guilty of sedition and immigration offences But aquitted of being spiritual leader of JI Dec 2003 - Sedition charge quashed on appeal April 2004 - Investigated on terror charges

"The Jakarta prosecutor's office has received a notification letter (from police) of their investigation into the suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir," said Kemas Yahya Rachman, spokesman for the attorney general.

"Investigators have conducted a probe into the suspect, who is believed to have carried out terrorist action," he said, quoting from the letter.

However, police chief General Dai Bachtiar declined to give details of the new charges Ba'asyir might face.

Earlier this month, police said that information justifying fresh questioning had been received from a number of sources - including the interrogation by the US of Hambali, the man accused of being JI's operations commander.

Lingering suspicions

Mr Ba'asyir was arrested shortly after the Bali bombings in October 2002, in which 202 people - mostly Australian tourists - were killed.

Mr Ba'asyir was never charged with the bombing, but he was accused of plotting to overthrow the government as the alleged spiritual leader of JI, the group thought to be behind the Bali bombing.

He was cleared of the treason charge in September 2003, after judges said there was not enough evidence to prove he was the JI spiritual head.

He was instead jailed for four years for subversion and immigration offences, the subversion charge later being overturned on appeal.

But the BBC's correspondent in Jakarta, Rachel Harvey, says Western and regional intelligence experts remain convinced that Mr Ba'asyir is connected with JI.

But so far, police and prosecutors in Indonesia have been unable to prove the connection.

Mr Ba'asyir himself denies any involvement with terrorism, saying the allegations against him are evidence of an American and Zionist conspiracy.