The 32 militants convicted in Indonesia over the Bali bombings will likely remain in prison, although a new Indonesian court ruling on the laws used to convict the men has thrown some doubt on their verdicts, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said yesterday.
The Oct. 12, 2002, bombings in Bali killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Attorneys for the 32 militants convicted in the blasts say they expect many will appeal following a ruling on Friday by the Indonesian Constitutional Court.
The men were charged under an anti-terror law that was passed after the bombings along with an additional measure allowing prosecutors to apply that law retroactively. The court ruled that the second measure was unconstitutional, but the panel did not have the authority to overturn any of the convictions.
Downer said that because the Constitutional Court is a new institution, it remains unclear how its rulings would effect the Bali High Court, where the bombers would appeal their convictions.
"I am confident that they will stay in jail and that their sentences will be seen through," Downer told a television network. "Nevertheless, we do have to face up to the fact that there is some legal ambiguity here."
He added, "We very much hope that the current convictions and sentences will stand and the indications are that that is likely, but we can't be 100 percent certain at this stage."
Retrials for the militants would be traumatic for families of the victims, Downer said.
"The Indonesian officials who we've been talking to share our absolute determination that the sentences that have already been handed down be carried through," Downer said.
"So we will continue to work very energetically with the Indonesians to make sure the sentences are not overturned and these people aren't released into the community."
Prime Minister John Howard said Saturday his government would push to ensure that the Bali bombers are punished.
In a 5-4 majority decision on Friday, judges on the Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a procedural law allowing prosecutors to apply anti-terror charges to crimes committed before the anti-terror law was enacted.
The court was ruling in a case lodged by Masykur Abdul Kadir, who was sentenced last year to 15 years in prison for helping the Bali bombers by providing transportation and accommodation.
Indonesia's justice minister, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, told reporters on Saturday that the Bali bombers couldn't use the court's decision to overturn their convictions. Lawyers may nevertheless seek to use the ruling as the basis for an appeal.
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
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
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