An Indonesian court on Monday rejected a bid by detained cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, accused of being the spiritual leader of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah network, to be released from jail.
The 65-year-old Muslim preacher was re-arrested on April 30 after he finished serving 18 months in jail for minor immigration offences. He is currently awaiting formal terror-related charges.
Dozens of Bashir supporters who filled the courtroom staged a noisy protest after the court ruling, shouting "God is greatest" and "Hang the police".
Jemaah Islamiah is accused of carrying out the Bali night-club bombings in 2002 which killed 202 people. Bashir has denied wrongdoing and insists Jemaah Islamiah does not exist.
The elderly cleric's lawyers argued his arrest and detention had no legal basis after July when the constitutional court annulled provisions that made new anti-terrorism legislation retroactive.
However, Judge Syamsul Ali of the South Jakarta court said police still had sufficient evidence to hold Bashir on other crimes more recent than the Bali bombings.
"(The court) has rejected the request by the applicant," Ali told the court. The court had already rejected a previous attempt by Bashir's lawyers in June to free him on the basis of lack of evidence.
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