Well put thornbird. Our own legal system and especially the US legal system are far from perfect and they never will be.
But they are so much better than conviction by public opinion or conviction by foreign power pressure that it just isn't comparable.
Let alone summary execution simply for being a member of a racial or political group which is part of the fabric of some societies.
Opinion polls show that, although there is a sizeable proportion of citizens who are no better than terrorists, a substantial majority is against summary justice, against torture, against imprisonment without charge, against imprisonment without trial, against using "nukes" to eliminate whole cities and nations perceived to be "agin us".
Given that a sectarian legal system in any country is far better than a religion-based legal system, we should be grateful for the legal system in Indonesia applying a jail penalty to Bashir and we should deplore the clumsy fundamentalsim and repressive attack on human rights based on a campaign of fear which is pervading western countries.
Human rights, the rights of the individual, are against the interests of religious fundamentalists and western power blocs alike. They have to be fought for by the individuals, not given away forever in a craven lather of cowardly fear.
There is organised deception, but the quality is an insult to any thoughtful person. Don't fall for it. Be cynical. Be open-minded. Remember we could give away the very freedoms we love to those who talk of "freedoms" but would take them away.
There's big ones in power and there's little ones hanging around here.
