Indonesia to proceed with radical cleric's terror trial

An Indonesian court ruled Thursday that prosecutors can proceed with their case against a radical Indonesian cleric who has been indicted on seven terrorism charges.

The South Jakarta District Court rejected the defense's argument that the court had no authority to try Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

Ba'asyir could face the death penalty under the charges, which include planning and/or inciting a terrorist act and involvement in a paramilitary training camp discovered last February in Aceh province.

He will be back in court Monday, when prosecutors will begin questioning 138 witnesses.

A large security presence ringed the courthouse ahead of the court's ruling Thursday.

Ba'asyir was first detained in August for suspected links to a militant training camp raided by authorities in Aceh in early 2010.

Police said the suspect and his organization, the Jamaat Tawhid Anshoru or JAT, were involved in setting up the camp.

The militants were preparing to launch attacks similar to the one in Mumbai 2008, and assassination attempts on Indonesian government officials, authorities have said.

But Ba'asyir's lawyers have called the case weak and a fabrication.

This will be his third trial.

In the first two, prosecutors tried to link the elderly cleric to the 2002 bombings in Bali and the 2003 hotel bomb attack in Jakarta.

The courts found him guilty of minor charges, and sentenced him to 25 months. He was released in June 2006.

A member of Ba'asyir's legal team said last month the prosecution has a weak case.

"It seems they have the same evidence as before so we're confident our client will be acquitted," said attorney Adnan Wirawan.

Ba'asyir is known for his fiery rhetoric.

He was accused of being the spiritual leader of Indonesia's homegrown terror network, Jemaah Islamiyah, which inspired many of those involved in the bombings

He has denied all the allegations and often blamed a U.S.-led conspiracy to put him behind bars.