Indonesian court cuts sentence for radical Bashir

JAKARTA, Oct 26 (AFP): An Indonesian court cut the jail term of radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, a vocal advocate of violent jihad convicted of funding terrorism, from 15 years to nine, a spokesman said Wednesday. Bashir is regarded as a spiritual leader of militant Islam in Indonesia and is an outspoken supporter of Al-Qaeda-style jihad, but the 73-year-old has always denied being a terrorist. "The chief judge verbally confirmed that Bashir's sentence has been reduced to nine years," the Jakarta High Court spokesman Ahmad Sobari told AFP, without elaborating. Detikcom news website said the ruling was made on October 20. 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. Bashir's lawyer Mohammad Assegaf said he was confident his client will eventually be released from prison. "We're very optimistic that the Supreme Court will find him not guilty from all terrorism charges. It has happened before," he told AFP. The bespectacled cleric served almost 26 months behind bars for conspiracy over the Bali bombings that killed 202 mainly Western tourists, including 88 Australians.