Prison officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Bashir, 82, who is regarded as the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a jihadist network with ties to al-Qaeda, was imprisoned in 2011 for 15 years for his links to a militant training camp in Aceh province.
After receiving periodic reductions in his jail term, Indonesia s law and human rights ministry has said he has now completed his sentence.
Firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, seen here in 2003, has been released from jail.
Credit:AP
Although linked to the Bali attacks that killed 202 people and a 2003 attack on the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Bashir was never convicted for them and denied those ties.
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SUKOHARJO, Indonesia (Reuters) -Indonesian Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the suspected mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, walked free from prison on Friday after serving 10 years for setting up a militant training camp.
Bashir, 82, who was never convicted of a direct role in the bombings, would enter a deradicalisation programme amid concerns over his continued influence in extremist circles, authorities said.
Photographs showed him dressed in white and wearing a mask as he left the prison in Bogor, south of the capital, Jakarta, before being driven to his home at an Islamic boarding school near the city of Solo in Central Java.
By Budi Satriawan SUKOHARJO, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesian Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the suspected mastermind of the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, walked free from prison on Friday after serving 10 years for setting up a militant training camp. Bashir, 82, who was never convicted of a direct role in the bombings, would enter a deradicalisation programme amid concerns over his continued influence in extremist circles, authorities said. Photographs showed him dressed in white and wearing a mask as he left the prison in Bogor, south of the capital, Jakarta, before being driven to his home at an Islamic boarding school near the city of Solo in Central Java. Abu Bakar Bashir was released from Gunung Sindur prison at 5.30 a.m., Rika Aprianti, a spokeswoman for the corrections department, told reporters. Bashir, who is regarded as the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiah (JI), a jihadist network with ties to al Qaeda, was imprisoned in 2011 for 15 years for his links to