An Indonesian bombmaker convicted of helping to orchestrate terror attacks on the resort island of Bali in 2005 which killed 20 people was released on parole on Wednesday, an official said.
Muhammad Cholili, 36, was sentenced to 18 years in prison in September 2006 for assisting slain ringleaders Noordin Mohammad Top and Azahari Husin to assemble the explosives used in the blasts.
The attacks on restaurants on Oct. 1, 2005, left 20 people dead and more than 100 injured.
Noordin and Azahari were key members of the Jemaah Islamiyah extremist network blamed for a string of deadly attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombing which killed 202 people, mostly Western holidaymakers, but also Taiwanese Eve Kuo (郭惠敏), 24, and four members of a Taipei-based rugby club — Australian James Hardman, 28; Englishman Daniel Braden, 28; and Godfrey Fitz, 39, and Craig Harty, 35, both of South Africa.
“Muhammad Cholili has been released on parole today after several remissions which he received for good behavior. He has never broken any prison regulations,” Indonesian Ministry of Justice prisons spokeswoman Ika Yusanti said.
Sentences are routinely cut in Indonesia to mark major religious celebrations, such as the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday and the nation’s independence day on Aug. 17.
This meant that Cholili served only around half of his term, but Yusanti said that his release has “received the recommendation from Detachment 88 and the National Anti-Terror Agency,” which are responsible for tracking terror activities in the country.
Yusanti also added that the authorities would continue to monitor Cholili’s activities and he would not be able to leave the country without the Indonesian minister of justice’s approval.
“If he commits any crime or creates any problems in the community, he will be sent back to prison,” she added.
The English-language Jakarta Globe reported that Cholili was surprised to learn of his release from Lowokwaru Prison in Malang, East Java, but was happy to leave prison.
“The most important thing is to go home and meet my family,” he was quoted as saying.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, has long struggled with terrorism, but a successful clampdown has prevented major deadly attacks.
However, recent reports of Indonesians joining the procession of jihadists to Syria and Iraq have sparked fears that they will revive sophisticated militant networks.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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