An Indonesian court today sentenced an Islamic militant to seven years in jail after finding him guilty of aiding fugitive Malaysian terror suspect Noordin Mohammad Top.

Ahmad Rofik Ridho was found "legally and convincingly guilty" of two counts of crime, one of which was providing firearms and explosives to Noordin in September 2004, said chief judge Ariansyan Dali.

Dali said Ridho had picked up the firearms in the town of Manado in North Sulawesi and later given them to Noordin.

He said Ridho was also guilty of "providing assistance for a perpetrator of crime (Noordin) who has been sought by Indonesian authorities" for a string of deadly bombings in Indonesia.

Noordin remains at large and is wanted for bloody bombing attacks that have claimed at least 245 lives since 2002.

"It is impossible for the defendant to have not known that Aiman, alias Noordin Mohammad Top, is an individual highly sought by government authorities for various bombings in Indonesia," Dali told the South Jakarta district court.

"Clearly been used'

Ridho is the younger brother of Muslim militant Fathur Rohman Al Ghozi, who was shot dead after escaping from jail in the Philippines. He appealed the verdict and maintained his innocence.

"Who wants to be jailed for seven years? I don't even want to be jailed for seven days, let alone seven years," he told reporters at his holding cell.

He also claimed that he had "clearly been used" as a scapegoat in the US-led global war on terror.

"That is clearly the case. Some of my friends were jailed for three years for simply having more than one identification card. That's ridiculous," he said.

Ridho is among more than 270 alleged Islamic militants detained by Indonesian police since the 2002 Bali bombings, blamed on regional extremist outfit Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

Noordin and his Malaysian compatriot Azahari Husin, who was killed in a police raid last November, were key members of the Al-Qaeda-linked JI. Analysts say they may have split off to form a more hardline group before Azahari's death.