The United States and Australia have publicly called on Jakarta not to release him, saying Bashir is a key South-East Asian terror leader. Last week, Indonesian police said they may declare him a suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings – meaning he may remain in detention. “The problem now is that the police are doing what the infidels and foreigners want,” Bashir said in a video statement released yesterday to reporters. Bashir has consistently denied any wrongdoing and says Washington wants him imprisoned because he is a vocal critic of US policies in the Muslim world.
