Extremist cleric who masterminded the Bali Bombings that killed 202 - including 88 Australians - will be released from jail this week after just 15 years behind bars
Indonesia will release radical cleric and alleged mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings Abu Bakar Bashir from prison later this week, its government says, upon completion of his jail term.
Bashir, 82, who was among Indonesia's most notorious extremists, is considered by some to be the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network.
He was jailed in 2011 for his links to militant training camps in Aceh province.
Militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir (pictured) will be released from prison after serving a 15 year jail sentence in Indonesia
An aerial view of the bomb blast scene as Australian Federal Police join Indonesian counterparts in sifting through the rubble of the October 12th bomb blast scene in Kuta, Bali
Bashir will be released on Friday 'in accordance with the expiration date and the end of his term,' Rika Aprianti, spokeswoman of the corrections directorate general at the law and human rights ministry, said in a statement.
JI is accused of plotting several big attacks in Indonesia and includes operatives trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the southern Philippines.
Its members are accused of orchestrating the 2002 bombings of Bali nightclubs, which killed more than 200 people, among them scores of Australians, and an attack on the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people a year later.
Indonesian police stand guard amongst the debri in Kuta Beach after the weekends bombing of 2 popular bars in which has killed almost 190 people many of which are Australian In Bali, Oct 14, 2002
A senior JI operative believed to have made bombs for both attacks, Zulkarnaen, was among 23 suspected militants arrested last month.
Bashir denied any involvement in the Bali bombings.
A lawyer for Bashir did not immediately respond to request for comment on his upcoming release.
Bashir (pictured) a radical Indonesian cleric linked to the deadly Bali bombings, will be released from prison this week after an earlier bid to free him early was axed following a public uproar
Security analyst Ridlwan Habib said that though Bashir's stature has weakened, extremists may try to associate their activities with him to gain traction and boost their credibility.
'Bashir is a senior figure in Indonesia's jihadist movement, and it's not impossible that his big name could be used,' he said
While seeking re-election, President Joko Widodo in January 2019 had considered an early release for Bashir on health grounds but scrapped the plan after Bashir reportedly declined to pledge allegiance to the Indonesian state ideology.
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