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Bali bomber goes on trial for his life

Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind behind last year's Bali bombings, shouts upon his arrival in court in Denpasar. Samudra faces six charges under Indonesia's anti-terrorism laws for planning, financing and carrying out the attack which killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, last October. REUTERS/CRACK

A 33-year-old computer expert went on trial for his life yesterday accused of masterminding the deadly Bali bomb attacks that prosecutors say were part of a plan to wage war on the US.

Imam Samudra was charged with plotting, organising and carrying out crimes of terror and causing mass casualties in the bombings last October 12. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of death.

Wearing a white Muslim cap and shirt, Samudra greeted the panel of judges in Arabic and then abruptly shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) at his lawyers and waved at them.

Prosecutor I Nyoman Dila read the 43-page indictment as Samudra sat in a swivel chair at the centre of the makeshift court in Denpasar, capital of the resort island.

Dila said Samudra chaired several planning meetings leading up to the nightclub attacks which killed more than 200 people, including 89 Australians.

"The defendant said there would be a big project to wage war against the US and in the meeting several bombing targets in Bali were plotted," Dila said, reading from the indictment.

The trial was later adjourned until Thursday.

Many officials have blamed the attacks -- the worst since the Sept. 11, 2001, suicide attacks on New York and Washington -- on the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah but the indictment makes no mention of the network.

Lawyers for Samudra, who have said their client confessed to coming up with the idea for the attack, told the court they objected to the fact that new anti-terror laws cited in the case were retroactive.

They also protested against the involvement of foreign police in the investigation.

Around 150 people attended the trial opening, most of them journalists. A handful of survivors and relatives of victims sat at the back of the cavernous court room.

Speaking to reporters after the adjournment, Randall Lee, a 30-year-old Australian who lost two brothers and a pregnant sister-in-law in the blasts, said he felt angry when he saw Samudra enter the court.

"He is so arrogant, a fundamentalist, a lunatic," said Lee, who was in Bali on the night of the blasts. "People like him should be thrown away, shot in the back of the head."

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has won widespread praise for its handling of the Bali investigation that has led to the arrest of more than 30 Islamic militants.

The trials will be a further test of Indonesian justice, with international pressure for tough verdicts while some domestic human rights groups fear possible bias against the defendants and a failure to hunt for further culprits.

Only one other suspect, Amrozi -- a 40-year-old mechanic accused of buying explosive materials and a minivan that later became a massive bomb -- has gone on trial over the attacks.

His trial resumed yesterday and centred on witnesses testifying about the minivan. Parts of the vehicle allegedly removed to make way for the bomb were on display.

Like other Bali accused, Amrozi and Samudra were students of radical Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiah who is currently on trial for treason.

Police have linked Bashir, 64, to the Bali attacks but have not named him as a suspect. Investigations continue and it is not known whether he will be charged.
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