Jakarta - Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, accused of leading an al-Qaeda-linked group blamed for attacks across Asia, was jailed for two-and-a-half-years on Thursday for involvement in the Bali bombings.
Bashir was cleared of more serious terrorism charges but found guilty of taking part in a "sinister conspiracy" that led to the 2002 bombings on the Indonesian resort island which left over 200 people dead, mostly tourists.
The judges said Bashir had not been directly involved in planning the Bali attack or the bombing of Jakarta's Marriott Hotel in 2003, but that he had given his approval for Bali.
"The panel of judges decided that the defendant, Abu Bakar Bashir, has been legally and convincingly proven of engaging in a sinister conspiracy," chief judge Sudarto said.
"It is true the defendant did not directly take part in the Bali blast but the defendant's words could be understood as his approval," the judge said.
The five-member panel of judges said the 66-year-old cleric's words to key Bali bomber Amrozi during a meeting in 2002 showed he was aware of the conspiracy and did nothing to stop it.
Prosecutors had demanded an eight-year sentence for Bashir, who was tried and cleared of terrorism charges at an earlier trial in 2003.
The verdict was greeted by yells of "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) by his followers both inside and outside the court. The judges were immediately whisked out of the room by armed police.
Bashir - looking frail dressed in his traditional white robe and shawl, a white skullcap and glasses - has always insisted the key conversation with bomber Amrozi never took place and he vowed to appeal.
"I feel I have been treated arbitrarily with this verdict. It is unlawful for me to accept it and therefore I will appeal," Bashir said.
Indonesia has come under pressure from the United States and Australia to act against Bashir, and both countries Thursday described the sentence as "disappointing".
"It's satisfying that he has been convicted (but) it's disappointing that the sentence is just for two-and-a-half years," Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters.
"We respect the independence of Indonesia's judiciary and welcome the conviction of this known terrorist leader," US embassy spokesman Max Kwak told AFP
"However, given the gravity of the charges on which he was convicted, we are disappointed at the length of the sentence."
Analysts here blamed the light sentence on the prosecutors' failure to prepare a solid case backed by strong evidence.
"In the end the verdict does not satisfy anybody. Foreign governments are disappointed while his supporters at home are also disappointed, for different reasons," said Dewi Fortuna Anwar of the Habibie Center think tank.
More than 2 000 police were deployed around the agriculture ministry complex in Jakarta where the trial was held. Police said they found five fuel bombs hidden around the building the previous day.
Earlier in the trial the main charge that Bashir and his supporters planned the Bali attack and the bombing of the Marriott had been dropped for lack of evidence.
Bashir has always maintained that US President George Bush, "the enemy of Allah", has pressured Indonesia to jail him to stop him campaigning for Islamic law.
More than 500 Bashir supporters packed the public gallery and the ground outside the building but there were no violent incidents.
Bashir was arrested a week after the Bali bombings in October 2002 and was put on trial the following year. The terrorism charges were thrown out but he was found guilty of immigration offences and jailed.
Police re-arrested him in April last year as he completed his jail term, citing new evidence of terrorist links and of his Jemaah Islamiyah leadership.
Jemaah Islamiyah, which wants to set up an Islamic state across Southeast Asia, has been blamed for a series of attacks in the region, including a suicide bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta last September that killed 11 people. - Sapa-AFP