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Bali Bomber Convicted, Sentenced to Death
If you'll remember, there was a female poster here who lost a brother in this blast.
She may have been back since, but I've not seen her.
I'm glad the bastard's set to die.
THAT'S worth a
57 minutes ago
By LELY T. DJUHARI, Associated Press Writer
BALI, Indonesia - An Indonesian militant laughed and gave a thumbs-up sign as a court sentenced him to death by firing squad Thursday for his role in the Bali bombings, the first verdict in the attack that killed 202 people.
Hundreds of people in the courtroom, including survivors of the bombings, cheered when the judge read the sentence against Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who has been named the "smiling bomber" by the Indonesian press for his defiantly jolly demeanor during the trial.
After the judge read the guilty verdict and sentence, the 41-year-old mechanic threw his arms in the air and gave his lawyers the thumbs-up sign. He then swiveled his chair, looked at the gallery and raised his fist in defiance.
As he was led out of the courtroom, Amrozi smiled broadly at Australian survivors, some of whom jeered and heckled him. Australia lost 88 people in the Oct. 12 vehicle bomb and suicide bombing at two popular nightclubs in a resort town on Bali island.
Amrozi, an alleged member of the region-wide militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, was found guilty of planning and helping execute the bombings. About three dozen other suspects from the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah are on trial or facing trial for the attacks.
"The accused is found guilty in a legal and convincing manner of carrying out an act of terrorism," Judge I Made Karna said.
The verdict and tough sentence could help end Indonesia's reputation as a being reluctant to go after militants. But there are fears the trials of Amrozi and others could spark new attacks.
On Tuesday, a car bomb exploded at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, killing at least 10 people and wounding nearly 150. Jemaah Islamiyah is suspected in the attack.
Australian-born Indonesian Natalie Juniardi, whose Indonesian husband died in the Bali attack, wept after the verdict was read.
"I will only be happy when all of them are put to death," she said. "I look at my two young children and I see my husband's face," said Juniardi, 29, who was pregnant with her second child when her husband was killed.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard hailed the outcome of the trial. "I'm sure I speak for all Australians in welcoming the guilty verdict," Howard told a press conference in Canberra.
But some survivors and relatives of victims said they opposed the death sentence, saying it would bring more attacks.
"I would hate to think that somebody's life was going to be taken in my son's name," Brian Deegan, an Australian magistrate whose 22-year-old son Josh died in the bombings. "I suspect that this will in many respects backfire and is going to create a lot more mischief and a lot more misery."
A British group representing the family of 22 of those killed in Bali urged Indonesian authorities not to execute Amrozi, saying, "We don't want him to become a martyr."
Indonesia's government has been eager to show the world that it is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Prosecutors said Amrozi purchased a van and explosives used in the car bomb that flattened Bali's crowded Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar.
Although Indonesian law allows for death sentences to be handed down for crimes such as murder and terrorism, in practice executions are rare.
Amrozi's attorney, Wirawan Adnan, said they will appeal the sentence "not because we believe he is innocent, but because he was mistreated and was not been given a fair trial. We do not believe that he deserves the death penalty, he was not the mastermind."
Most of Bali's 3 million people are Hindu, unlike the rest of Indonesia's 207 million people who are predominantly Muslim. Several of the alleged bombers said they picked the venue to kill as many Westerners as possible to avenge the treatment of fellow Muslims in other parts of the world.
Prosecutors allege the Bali strike was part of a campaign by Jemaah Islamiyah to set up a fundamentalist Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
Police said Thursday they were searching for more Jemaah members — though they declined to blame the group for Tuesday's Marriott bombing until investigations brought firmer evidence.
"We are intensifying the hunt for these people. We have pictures of them, and they were involved in the Bali and other bombings," chief of detectives Erwin Mappaseng told reporters.
Investigators were trying to identify the driver of the explosives-laden van used in the Marriott attack, analyzing blood and DNA samples from body parts found inside the vehicle as well as footage from security cameras at the hotel.
Police Thursday released a photo showing a severed head found at the scene believed to be that of the driver of the bomb-laden vehicle. Police have also issued a composite sketch of the person who allegedly purchased the vehicle.
On Thursday, police said they had arrested two people in Jakarta a day earlier over three recent bombings in the capital that wounded 11 people. But the pair are not suspected in the Marriott blast.
She may have been back since, but I've not seen her.
I'm glad the bastard's set to die.
THAT'S worth a
57 minutes ago
By LELY T. DJUHARI, Associated Press Writer
BALI, Indonesia - An Indonesian militant laughed and gave a thumbs-up sign as a court sentenced him to death by firing squad Thursday for his role in the Bali bombings, the first verdict in the attack that killed 202 people.
Hundreds of people in the courtroom, including survivors of the bombings, cheered when the judge read the sentence against Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who has been named the "smiling bomber" by the Indonesian press for his defiantly jolly demeanor during the trial.
After the judge read the guilty verdict and sentence, the 41-year-old mechanic threw his arms in the air and gave his lawyers the thumbs-up sign. He then swiveled his chair, looked at the gallery and raised his fist in defiance.
As he was led out of the courtroom, Amrozi smiled broadly at Australian survivors, some of whom jeered and heckled him. Australia lost 88 people in the Oct. 12 vehicle bomb and suicide bombing at two popular nightclubs in a resort town on Bali island.
Amrozi, an alleged member of the region-wide militant group Jemaah Islamiyah, was found guilty of planning and helping execute the bombings. About three dozen other suspects from the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah are on trial or facing trial for the attacks.
"The accused is found guilty in a legal and convincing manner of carrying out an act of terrorism," Judge I Made Karna said.
The verdict and tough sentence could help end Indonesia's reputation as a being reluctant to go after militants. But there are fears the trials of Amrozi and others could spark new attacks.
On Tuesday, a car bomb exploded at the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, killing at least 10 people and wounding nearly 150. Jemaah Islamiyah is suspected in the attack.
Australian-born Indonesian Natalie Juniardi, whose Indonesian husband died in the Bali attack, wept after the verdict was read.
"I will only be happy when all of them are put to death," she said. "I look at my two young children and I see my husband's face," said Juniardi, 29, who was pregnant with her second child when her husband was killed.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard hailed the outcome of the trial. "I'm sure I speak for all Australians in welcoming the guilty verdict," Howard told a press conference in Canberra.
But some survivors and relatives of victims said they opposed the death sentence, saying it would bring more attacks.
"I would hate to think that somebody's life was going to be taken in my son's name," Brian Deegan, an Australian magistrate whose 22-year-old son Josh died in the bombings. "I suspect that this will in many respects backfire and is going to create a lot more mischief and a lot more misery."
A British group representing the family of 22 of those killed in Bali urged Indonesian authorities not to execute Amrozi, saying, "We don't want him to become a martyr."
Indonesia's government has been eager to show the world that it is committed to bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Prosecutors said Amrozi purchased a van and explosives used in the car bomb that flattened Bali's crowded Sari Club and nearby Paddy's Bar.
Although Indonesian law allows for death sentences to be handed down for crimes such as murder and terrorism, in practice executions are rare.
Amrozi's attorney, Wirawan Adnan, said they will appeal the sentence "not because we believe he is innocent, but because he was mistreated and was not been given a fair trial. We do not believe that he deserves the death penalty, he was not the mastermind."
Most of Bali's 3 million people are Hindu, unlike the rest of Indonesia's 207 million people who are predominantly Muslim. Several of the alleged bombers said they picked the venue to kill as many Westerners as possible to avenge the treatment of fellow Muslims in other parts of the world.
Prosecutors allege the Bali strike was part of a campaign by Jemaah Islamiyah to set up a fundamentalist Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
Police said Thursday they were searching for more Jemaah members — though they declined to blame the group for Tuesday's Marriott bombing until investigations brought firmer evidence.
"We are intensifying the hunt for these people. We have pictures of them, and they were involved in the Bali and other bombings," chief of detectives Erwin Mappaseng told reporters.
Investigators were trying to identify the driver of the explosives-laden van used in the Marriott attack, analyzing blood and DNA samples from body parts found inside the vehicle as well as footage from security cameras at the hotel.
Police Thursday released a photo showing a severed head found at the scene believed to be that of the driver of the bomb-laden vehicle. Police have also issued a composite sketch of the person who allegedly purchased the vehicle.
On Thursday, police said they had arrested two people in Jakarta a day earlier over three recent bombings in the capital that wounded 11 people. But the pair are not suspected in the Marriott blast.
Oh, I hope to never be sentenced to death by Sava!!
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