Cleric Linked to Bali Bombings that Killed 28 Brits Released from Jail

A RADICAL cleric linked to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people including 28 British tourists has been released from prison in Indonesia.

Abu Bakar Bashir, the former head of Jemmah Islamiya who carried out the deadly 2002 Bali bomb attacks, has been released from an Indonesian prison.

The 80-year old radical cleric, who led a brazen jihadist group linked to Al-Qaeda, always denied his involvement in the massive terror attack. Indonesian authorities struggled to prosecute him, but he was finally jailed in 2011 for funding a training camp for aspiring militants.

In October 2002, two bomb blasts killed 202 people in the popular Indonesian tourist island of Bali. Among the dead were many foreign visitors of 20 nationalities, including 28 Brits and 88 Australians. Osama Bin Laden said that the attacks were in retaliation to Australian military intervention in East Timor and the US-led Global War on Terror.

On Friday (January 8th), Bashir was released from prison into the care of his family after his sentence was reduced by an Indonesian court.

“I just want to avoid my father from crowds during the coronavirus pandemic,” Bashir’s son, Abdul Rohim, said.

“He would only rest and gather with his family until the outbreak ends, there will be no other activities of him for sure.”

Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, described Bashir’s release as “gut-wrenching”.

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