JAKARTA, July 4 (IslamOnline.net) - In a controversial teleconference from the police headquarters in Malaysia, alleged Jemaah Islamiah (JI) members implicated Abu Bakar Basyir of being the leader of the group and argued he was aware of its activities, while a leader of the Mujahideen Council of Indonesia (MMI) told IslamOnline.net it was only a plot to undermine Basyir.

During a video link conference, four detained alleged members of the JI in Malaysia and three in Singapore claimed Basyir led the group since 1999 and approved a number of its attacks in south-east Asia.

They said Basyir, high on U.S., Singapore and Malaysia’s lists of suspected terrorists, had plotted to bomb churches in Indonesia and sent fighters to the Malukus, the southern Philippines and Thailand.

Ageing Basyir, 64, condemned the use of witnesses testifying against him from abroad, saying it destroyed his 'hopes for an objective trial' and violated his human rights, reported the Jakarta post on Friday, July 04.

A MMI leader, calling himself Sheikh Abdullah, told IOL that Basyir repudiated the accusations, asserting the whole episode was a plot to undermine the man, who is currently in jail in Jakarta.

“We have our own intelligence information that shows it’s the U.S. that has ordered the Megawati Sukarnoputri regime to keep Basyir behind bars by all means, and the use of the video link from Singapore and Malaysia is one of the unconventional means,” said the MMI leader who did not want his real name revealed or his picture taken.

“It is impossible to substantiate the claims made by the 7 alleged JI members from Malaysia and Singapore, since we are not able to talk to them and we can only hear what they have to say,” Sheikh Abdullah told IOL.

He added that it was unfair and against the spirit of the law to allow any one to accuse someone like Basyir without them bringing any concrete proof.

Sheikh Abdullah maintained that the case against Basyir rests on hearsay evidence and flimsy accusations by people who do not even know the man.

“As far as I know and I can ascertain this is the truth: Basyir never condoned any one to commit acts of violence and even sent a memo to all the members of the MMI and groups associated with it not to indulge in bombings or killings of westerners as these would be detrimental to the image of Islam,” he told IOL.

The MMI leader charged it was obvious that a Machiavellian plan against Basyir and Muslims of good reputation was being plotted in the South East Asian region, citing the arrest of a school owner and his son in Thailand and the corroboration of charges against Basyir by the U.S and its allies in the region.

He referred to rumors that Basyir will be jailed for 15 years upon these testimonies and for the alleged violation of the Indonesian immigration laws.

The teleconference is not the first that has raised the hue and cry of defense lawyers who refused to be at the court on Thursday to listen to the testimony of the alleged JI members without being able to cross examine them.

The lawyers said last week during a similar teleconference from Singapore that the court should not allow such testimonies, which are biased and one sided.

Nonetheless, the video link from Kuala Lumpur helped built the case of the prosecution against Basyir.

The testimony also destroyed any chances that Basyir had to fight for his freedom and to restore his name, said the MMI leader who blamed the Indonesian judiciary for allowing the teleconference.