Indonesian prosecutors have dropped the most serious terrorism charges against radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir due to a lack of evidence.

Bashir, 72, had been facing the possibility of the death penalty for the most serious of his seven terrorism-related charges.

But prosecutors at his trial in Jakarta are now seeking a life sentence for the cleric.

Prosecutors say the charge of providing firearms and explosives for terrorist acts could not be proven convincingly.

They have also dropped the charge of inciting acts of terrorism, leaving only the accusation of providing funds to a terrorist group.

Hundreds of Bashir's radical followers erupted into chants of support for the man who is widely regarded as a spiritual leader of south-east Asian jihadists.

Around 2,500 heavily armed police were on hand to prevent violence, but Islamist hardliners at the court instead welcomed the stiffest charges being dropped as a victory.

Bashir now stands accused only of providing funds to the so-called Al Qaeda in Aceh group that was planning Mumbai-style attacks in Indonesia, according to police.

Its operations leader, Indonesian bomb maker Dulmatin, was killed by police in March last year.

Scores of other members of the group have been killed or captured.

Past charges

Although his former students read like a who's who of Indonesian jihad, Bashir denies any involvement in terrorism and claims he is being framed by the United States and its allies.

Bashir served almost 26 months behind bars for the Bali bombings of 2002 that killed more than 200 people, but his conviction was overturned after his release in 2006.

Prosecutors have also unsuccessfully charged him with involvement in church bombings in 2000 and an attack on the Marriott hotel in Jakarta in 2003.

Two years after his release from prison Bashir founded another group, Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), to continue agitating for sharia law.

Police say JAT was a front for a new campaign of terrorism, but there has been no attempt to shut down the group or arrest its members.

- AFP