JAKARTA, INDONESIA -- A convicted firebrand cleric who inspired the Bali bombers and other violent extremists has walked free from an Indonesian prison after completing his sentence for funding the training of Islamic militants.
Police said they would continue to monitor the activities of Abu Bakar Bashir, who is now 82 and ailing.
His son said Bashir would be avoiding activities outside his family due to the coronavirus. Bashir was the spiritual leader of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah network behind the 2002 bombings on the tourist island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, including 88 Australians.
Indonesian authorities struggled to prove his involvement, and Bashir was imprisoned in 2011 for his links to a militant training camp.
