Hundreds of members of two Muslimgroups staged a rally Monday outside the Salemba prison here to foil an attempt by the police to bring Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir to the Jakarta police for questioning.

Police summoned Ba'asyir for his alleged role in a series of bomb attacks in Indonesia.

The cleric, accused by several governments of leading terror group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), is serving a 1.5-year jail sentence for immigration offense and due for release at the end of this month

The protesters are members of the Indonesian Mujahideen Councilfounded by the cleric and the Islam Defenders Front, a Jakarta-based radical group which frequently vandalizes nightspots and gambling houses.

They prevented anyone from entering the prison and shouted anti-US slogans, carrying the picture of US President George W. Bush with a text below that reads "Bush is the real terrorist."

Ba'asyir has repeatedly said his indictment is orchestrated by the US government and denied any link with terrorism.

The Jakarta police said earlier it has founded new evidences that link Ba'asyir with the October 2002 Bali bombing and the Hotel Marriott blast last August.

Source: Xinhua