An Indonesian court has cut the jail term of radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, a vocal advocate of violent jihad convicted of funding terrorism, from fifteen years to nine.
Bashir is regarded as a spiritual leader of militant Islam in Indonesia and is an outspoken supporter of al-Qa’ida-style jihad, but the 73-year-old has always denied being a terrorist.
He was jailed in June for funding a terrorist group that was planning attacks against Westerners and political leaders in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.
“The chief judge verbally confirmed that Bashir’s sentence has been reduced to nine years,” the Jakarta High Court spokesman Ahmad Sobari said.
Sobari gave no reason for the decision.
