JAKARTA, Dec. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Indonesian Muslim Cleric Abu BakarBa'ashir had delivered edicts from Osama Bin Laden to kill citizens of the United States and its allies in Indonesia, a witness said on Tuesday.

    "Ba'ashir had delivered the edicts," said witness Nassir Bin Abbas to Indonesian court session here.

    He said "Osama bin Laden urges Muslims around the world to killAmerican and its allies civilians."

    Abbas said that Ba'ashir was head of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI),a militant group seen as the Southeast Asian arm of al Qaeda.

    The 66-year old cleric Ba'ashir dismissed the testimony, sayingthe group did not exist and he had never met the witness, Abbas, aMalaysian who claimed to have been a JI instructor in the militarycamp.

    The witness also said that the cleric had given him funds in April 2000 for purchasing logistic for the training camp.

    Ba'ashir is accused of inciting followers to carry out the October 2002 Bali bombings in which 202 people died and an attack last year on the Jakarta Marriott hotel that left 12 dead.

    He has consistently denied wrongdoing, saying the charges against him are a result of Western pressure. Enditem