Radical Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir walked out of a Jakarta jail today after serving time for links to the 2002 Bali bombings to return to an Islamic school once dubbed the "Ivy League" of militants.
Wearing his trademark white skullcap and red-and-white checked shawl, a smiling Bashir was surrounded by supporters shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest).
"I thank God almighty, also my lawyers and the gentlemen who defended me during my trials," Bashir said. "I will maintain my struggle to uphold sharia (Islamic law), he added, before getting into a black van.
Seen by the West as the spiritual head of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) regional militant network, Bashir was convicted of being part of a conspiracy behind the bombings that killed 202 people, many of them Australian tourists.
Southeast Asian and Western authorities blame the group for the Indonesian resort island attack and other strikes. Hundreds of Bashir supporters from hardline Muslim groups were outside the jail to welcome him.
Scores of police were on hand and security was tight, but the crowd quickly dissipated once the cleric had left. Asked about possible close police surveillance of his father, Bashir's son Rohim told reporters: "Why should we be afraid? We have been watched all this time."
In Australia, which suffered the highest death toll from the Bali blasts, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he remained worried about Bashir's activities.
"I have some concerns about his advocacy. There's no question of that. This is somebody who believes in the jihadist principles."
He added, however: "The United Nations Security Council has now listed Abu Bakir Bashir as a terrorist and that imposes on Indonesia a number of restrictions."
Bashir was arrested several days after the 2002 blasts for investigations on separate crimes and later spent 18 months in jail for minor immigration offences after treason charges against him were dismissed or overturned in court. Police rearrested him for suspected links with the Bali attacks as he was leaving prison in April 2004.
A court last year sentenced him to 30 months in jail after finding him guilty of being part of a conspiracy behind the bombings. The 67-year-old cleric, who has called al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden a true Islamic warrior, denied any wrongdoing. He insists Jemaah Islamiah does not exist, and Indonesian courts have dismissed charges that he led the network. His walk to freedom came after a reduction in his sentence from remissions he received on Indonesia's 60th independence celebration last August and because of time served in detention.