Indonesian prosecutors today demanded the death penalty for a radical Islamic cleric who is accused of ordering attacks across the country.

Aman Abdurrahman, who police believe is a key ideologue for Islamic State militants in Indonesia, is accused of orchestrating a January 2016 suicide bombing and gun attack in the capital Jakarta that killed four civilians and four attackers.

He sat silently as the prosecution announced the sentencing demand today before a panel of five judges.

Indonesian prosecutors have called for the death penalty for radical Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman. Picture: AAP. (AP)

It is also believed that Abdurrahman - who also goes by the name Oman Rochman - is the de facto leader of Islamic State-inspired militant group Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), according to a Fairfax report .

Police have blamed the JAD for a series of suicide bombing attacks on churches in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, last weekend that killed at least 13 people and injured 40 others.

In that attack, members of one family - including children as young as nine - rode motorcycles into church compounds that then exploded.

Abdurrahman is accused of orchestrating a spate of attacks, including suicide bombings with young children, across Indonesia. Picture: AAP. (AP)

Dozens of heavily armed police officers were on-guard during a court hearing for Abdurrahman today. Picture: AAP. (AP)

Prosecution lawyer Anita Dewayani said Abdurrahman's acts had resulted in deaths and injuries and there was no reason for lenience.

It is believed Abdurrahman's instructions from prison - where he has been serving a terrorism-related sentence - also resulted in multiple other attacks, including the January 2016 attack on a Starbucks in Jakarta, an attack on a bus terminal in the capital that killed three police officers and an attack on a church in Kalimantan that killed a 2-year-old girl.

Reflecting a lack of supervision of militants in Indonesia's overcrowded prisons, Abdurrahman spread radicalism and communicated with his supporters on the outside through visitors and video calls, prosecutors said.

It is believed Abdurrahman is the de facto leader of the Islamic State-inspired group JAD, which took responsibility for a suicide bombing over the weekend that killed 13 people. Picture: AAP. (AAP)

Police say Abdurrahman's actions while behind bars in an Indonesian prison have resulted in the deaths and injuries of many people. Picture: Supplied. (Supplied)

Abdurrahman's next hearing is set for May 25 where he and his lawyer, appointed by the court after the cleric refused to be represented, will respond to the prosecution.

In court today, police deployed dozens of elite counter-terrorism and paramilitary officers to guard the hearing at the South Jakarta District Court following the recent wave of attacks by IS-inspired militants.

Prosecutors say the Islamic cleric directed his followers to conduct the attacks, including this incident where sword-wielding men drove into police headquarters in Sumatra this week. Picture: AAP. (AP)

Following the initial Surabaya attack on three churches on Sunday, an Indonesian police headquarters was also attacked the following day by suicide bombers from a different family.

Twelve innocent civilians were killed in the incident in which two motorbikes rode by children as young as eight were blown up outside the police building.

On Wednesday this week, a third attack occurred in Sumatra where four sword-wielding men drove a car into another police building before being shot dead.