No holiday cut in prison time for Bashir

JAKARTA, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Jailed Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir will not have his sentence reduced to mark the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr, his lawyer said Thursday.

Although Bashir, 67, had been on the list of prisoners eligible for a sentence reduction -- as is the Indonesian tradition of rewarding prisoners who exhibit good behavior and announcing it on national holidays -- he was told Thursday that his sentence would not be shortened, the BBC reported.

His lawyer responded to the news by accusing Australia of interfering in Indonesia's affairs. In March, Bashir was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiracy in the October 2002 Bali bomb attacks, in which many of the 202 people killed were Australians.

Australia has asked Indonesia not to shorten the sentences of militants such as Bashir, but until now Jakarta has refused the requests. Bashir already received a 30-day reduction to his sentence earlier this year.

Bashir is widely believed to be the spiritual leader of the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings and several other terrorist attacks.