Bashir links CIA to Bali bombings

Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has accused America's main intelligence agency of involvement in the 2002 Bali suicide bombings, which claimed the lives of 202 people, including 88 Australians.

Bashir, the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), was released from prison in June after having served almost two years for involvement in the conspiracy which led to the attack.

Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, his brother Ali Gufron, also known as Mukhlas and Imam Samudra were to have been executed earlier this week for the Bali bombings but legal appeals have been lodged.

The cleric has told the ABC's Foreign Correspondent program the Bali bombings were "hijacked" by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

"So the bomb that killed so many Australians, it was an American bomb," he said. "It wasn't the bomb made by Amrozi and his friends."

"I don't know whether the Australian Government pretends not to know this, or really doesn't know.

"If they don't know, then they're stupid. But I think they're just pretending not to know."

Bashir described the device used in the bombing as a "micro-nuclear bomb", and says the bomb originally intended for use in the attack "would not have killed people, only injured them".

The Australian Government has dismissed Bashir's claims as nonsense.

Bashir says that he is free to travel anywhere he wants in Indonesia, and says he wants to travel to Australia to preach.

"But it would be impossible to go to Australia because if I went there I would be arrested and slandered by the Australian Government," he said.

"The Australian Government still treats me like an enemy for reasons that are unclear."

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