The 72-year-old religious leader and alleged founder of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terror organisation smiled and waved at his supporters, who chanted "Allahu akbar" as he arrived at the court in Jakarta.

I understand in principle that I am being accused of being the leader of a militant group in Aceh. Such allegations have been engineered and are just empty talk," he told the judges after hearing the charges against him.

It is the third time Bashir has been tried for terrorism related charges going back to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people and were blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah.

Bashir served almost 26 months for conspiracy over the bombings before being freed in 2006 and subsequently cleared of any involvement.