JAKARTA, April 6 (UPI) -- Lawyers for an Indonesian Muslim cleric convicted of an "evil conspiracy" in the 2002 Bali bombings have filed new evidence to support his appeal.
The documents filed by Abu Bakar Bashir's lawyers Wednesday in South Jakarta District Court include a letter from a bomber on death row denying that Bashir was involved in the Bali blasts.
Last month Bashir, 66, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his involvement in an "evil conspiracy" that led to the Bali bombings in which 202 people died. However, the court acquitted him of ordering the bombings or of being involved in a 2003 blast at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people.
The light sentence was criticized by the United States and Australia, as intelligence officials in both countries believe Bashir to be the leader of the al-Qaida-linked regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.
Bashir has consistently denied involvement in terrorism and says he has been victimized because he campaigns for strict Islamic law in Indonesia.
