A radical Indonesian cleric, Abu Bakar Bashir, was today sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings which killed 202 people.

But the court in Jakarta found him not guilty of three more serious charges, including ordering the attack.

Bashir was named in court as the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, which has been linked to al-Qaeda.

His sentence was immediately described as "disappointing" by America and Australia. 88 Australian citizens died in the Bali attacks.

"We’d have liked a longer sentence, and we would hope that the prosecution might consider appealing against the sentence," said Alexander Downer, the Australian foreign minister.

"He has without any doubt been a spiritual inspiration to Jemaah Islamiah in Indonesia and Jemaah Islamiah is linked up with al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks."

Bashir said in a statement to the court that the sentence was "tyranny".

Judges also cleared him of allegations that he planned the 2003 suicide bombing of the J.W. Marriott hotel which killed 12 people, and that he incited his followers to launch terrorist attacks.

He had faced a maximum penalty of death in the three top charges, but most analysts had predicted his punishment would be far less, after the prosecution case failed to materialise. As a string of star witnesses recanted during the five-month trial, only one witness testified that Bashir headed Jemaah Islamiyah, the group blamed in both attacks.

Both sides said they would consider appealing the verdict, with Bashir’s lawyers calling the sentence politically motivated. Bashir and his supporters have claimed that Jakarta was under pressure from the United States to find him guilty.

"I’m being oppressed by people from abroad and at home," Bashir said after the verdict, surrounded by cheering supporters. "They are slaves to immoral behavior. They make immoral behavior their guide. Open their hearts or destroy them."

Intelligence officials say that Jemaah Islamiyah has cells across Southeast Asia where it is believed to be seeking a Pan-Islamic state. Alleged members jailed without trial in Malaysia are accused of helping two of the Sept. 11 hijackers during a visit to that country in 2000.

Zachary Abuza, a US terrorism expert, said that Bashir supporters would be emboldened that the court dropped the serious charges, and that he was expecting an even lighter sentence.

"I’m actually surprised that it is that long," Abuza said. "I thought it would be much lighter. They (Bashir’s followers) are going to feel vindicated, that prosecutors have to drop many charges against him and indeed dropped demands for a fuller sentence."

The five-judge panel said in its verdict that there was no evidence nor witnesses to prove that Bashir took part in the plot to bomb the Marriott. Bashir was in jail at the time of the attack.

"The perpetrators of Marriott bombings admitted they did that on their own will... Therefore the defendant has to be acquitted from primary charges," the five-judge panel said in their verdict.

"Neither the defence witnesses nor the prosecutors’ witnesses said that the defendant has planned or provoked other people to commit the bombings," the verdict said.

The conspiracy conviction relates to allegations that Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who was later convicted along with 35 other militants in the nightclub bombings, visited Bashir three months before the attacks to ask for his blessing. During that meeting, Amrozi testified that Bashir responded that "it was up to you" when asked about the Bali bombing.

"By leaving it up to Amrozi, this means that the defendant Bashir would have known what would happen in Bali," said Judge Sudarto.

He said that Bashir, who has been in jail since last April, would get credit for time served and could be out before the end of 2006.

A dozen armed officers escorted Bashir into the courtroom where he smiled and told reporters that President Bush was "evil." About 100 of Bashir’s supporters attended the proceedings.

The United States considers Bashir the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah and was hoping for a lengthy prison term to deter terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

"We respect the independence and judgment of the Indonesian courts," U.S. Embassy spokesman Max Kwak said. "But given the gravity of the charges on which he was convicted, we are disappointed at the length of the sentence."

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