Police allow Ba'asyir to pray in prison mosque

National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Anton Bachrul Alam says the police will allow firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to perform the Idul Fitri prayer in a mosque located within the National Police’s detention center.

“We are not allowing him to perform the Idul Fitri prayer outside the detention center simply because of safety reasons,” Anton said Tuesday as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Earlier, Ba'asyir's family had asked permission for the cleric to be allowed to perform the prayer in either the mosque located within the National Police headquarters, or at Bhayangkara square in the front of the building, but police refused.

Ba'asyir was sentenced in June to 15 years' imprisonment for playing a significant role in the establishment and maintenance of terrorist camps in Aceh.