Ali Imron, one of the few defendants to express remorse over the terrorist attacks on Indonesia's Bali island, was sentenced yesterday to life in prison for his role in the bombings that killed 202 people.
"Ali Imron has been found guilty in a legal and convincing manner of terrorism," said Judge Mulyani, who read out the verdict.
PHOTO: AP
Mulyani, who goes by a single name, ignored a prosecution demand that Imron be given a 20-year prison sentence but refused to give him death as allowed under Indonesian law.
Mulyani said the judges took into consideration Imron's expressions of remorse and his cooperation with authorities, including testifying against other Bali defendants.
"He has been helpful ... he shows remorse and he has instructed his students and family not to follow the path of violence as he has done," Mulyani said in his summation.
"But his crime is extraordinary. Not only has he been responsible for killing 202 people but his crime has had far-reaching effects on the community."
Imron told the court that he was considering appealing the verdict.
Imron's older brother Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, and the mastermind of the Bali attack, Imam Samudra, have already been sentenced death. Both defiantly defended the bombings as necessary to avenge the treatment of Muslims at the hands of the US and Israel.
Imron, a 33-year-old Islamic boarding school teacher, was arrested in January. He has admitted building one of the two bombs that ripped through two, packed nightclubs and driving a bomb-laden minivan to the site of the attack.
Shortly after his arrest, Imron gave a bizarre press conference in which he apologized to the victims' families and showed how he and others allegedly assembled the explosives.
In court, he broke down in tears several times said he believed the attacks were not in accordance with Islamic teachings.
Imron is one of more than 35 people arrested over the blasts and nine have been convicted so far, with sentences ranging from seven years to death.
The Bali attack is blamed on the Jemaah Islamiyah network, which reportedly wants to turn much of Southeast Asia into an Islamic state. The network's commander, Riduan Isamuddin Hambali, was captured last month in Thailand and is in US custody.
Jemaah Islamiyah also is accused of directing last month's car bombing of a US-owned hotel in Jakarta which killed 12 people. At least nine suspects have been arrested in connection with the blast, but none have been formally charged.
Earlier this month, a court in Jakarta sentenced Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir to four years in prison for sedition but acquitted him of heading Jemaah Islamiyah. The verdict has been appealed.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number