Radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after he was convicted of supporting an Islamic militant training camp in Aceh.

The 72-year-old is believed to be responsible for inspiring the Bali bombings which claimed the lives of 202 people, including 88 Australians, in 2002.

Judges handed down the verdict to the courthouse in south Jakarta around 1:30pm (local time).

Prosecutors had asked for a life sentence.

The cleric showed little emotion as judge Herri Swantoro read the guilty verdict and sentence at the end of a four-month trial.

"Abu Bakar Bashir has been proven guilty of planning and misleading other people to fund terror activities... and is sentenced to 15 years in jail," the judge said.

The verdict triggered a gasp from the cleric's supporters in the court.

Bashir immediately promised to appeal the sentence, which he called the work of the devil.

"I reject this because it is cruel and disregards Islamic sharia," he said in response to the judge.

"This ruling is by the friends of the devil and it is haram [forbidden by Islamic law] for me to accept it."

Outside the court his supporters reacted with angry shouts of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").

They marched around in a circle with their fists raised before moving from the court grounds into the street.

While they appeared angry, there was no violence.

Thousands of police had been patrolling the streets of the capital in anticipation of a violent response to the verdict.

At the court, phone lines had been scrambled and balaclava-wearing snipers took positions on surrounding buildings.

The Australian Government has welcomed Bashir's conviction.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says his thoughts go first to the families of the more than 110 Australians who have died as a result of terrorist attacks over the past 10 years.

Mr Rudd says the Government hopes this conviction brings some measure of justice to the families of the victims.

He says the Indonesian government has shown firm resolve in the fight against terrorism, and has paid tribute to Indonesian authorities who prosecuted the case.

Defiant

Bashir has been defiant to the end, telling the ABC that jihad in Indonesia will continue regardless of the outcome of his trial.

During the closing stages of his trial, Bashir told the ABC:"Jihad won't stop. You get rid of this one, others will emerge, because in the end, Islam will win, others will be destroyed.

"Wait and see. What we have now is a process, and jihad won't end."

The case against Bashir in this trial was much stronger than in the past, bolstered by evidence from his followers who had also been tried and convicted.

When asked for his view on his young followers, who had threatened to launch terror attacks if he was convicted, he replied: "They should retaliate, not to defend me, but to defend Islam."

An anonymous text message had circulated through Jakarta this week, warning that bombs would explode across the country the moment the verdict was announced.

But there was no sign of any immediate attacks.

Perth man Peter Hughes, who survived the 2002 Bali bombings, told ABC Radio's PM he welcomes the verdict.

"I think it's a fantastic result. I think the guilty verdict says it all," he said.

"This guy was the mastermind behind not only other bombings but especially the Bali bombings."

- ABC/Reuters