A radical cleric linked to the deadly 2002 Bali bombings will be released from prison this week, Indonesian authorities said on Monday, after an earlier bid to free him early was reversed following a public uproar.
Abu Bakar Bashir, 82, once synonymous with extremism in the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, will be freed on Friday after completing a 15-year prison term for helping fund paramilitary training in conservative Aceh province.
He was sentenced in 2011, but the firebrand preacher's time was cut due to regular sentence reductions handed to most prisoners in Indonesia.
"He will be released on January 8, 2021, as his prison term expired and ended," Rika Aprianti, spokesman for Indonesia's corrections agency, said.
Bashir's lawyers had appealed for early release citing his old age and risk of contracting Covid-19 in the South-East Asian nation's overcrowded prison system.
Bashir, a key figure in militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, was previously jailed over the Bali bombings, but that conviction was quashed on appeal.
He has repeatedly denied involvement in the 2002 bombings that killed more than 200 people in Indonesia's worst terror attack. Most of the victims were foreign tourists, including dozens of Australians.
Two years ago, plans to grant Bashir early release on humanitarian grounds were shelved after a backlash in Indonesia and Australia.
Bashir has since been regularly taken to hospital over his deteriorating health.
The Bali bombings prompted Jakarta to increase its counter-terror co-operation with the US and Australia.
Al Qaeda-linked JI was founded by a handful of exiled Indonesian militants in Malaysia in the 1980s and grew to include cells across South-East Asia.
As well as the Bali bombings, the radical group was blamed for a 2003 car bomb at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta and a suicide car bomb the following year outside the Australian embassy.
This week Indonesian police said they had discovered videos showing members of JI at what they described as terrorist training camps.
The dramatic footage, including kidnapping and weapons simulations, was found on the laptop of a recently arrested terror suspect, they said.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
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%3Cp%3E%E2%97%8F%20Estijaba%20helpline%3A%208001717%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Ministry%20of%20Health%20and%20Prevention%20hotline%3A%20045192519%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Mental%20health%20support%20line%3A%20800%204673%20(Hope)%3Cbr%3EMore%20information%20at%20hope.hw.gov.ae%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
