The alleged mastermind of last year's Bali bombings appeared in court yesterday, denying involvement in the atrocity while lawyers for the first man convicted for the attack said they were ready to file an appeal to save their client from facing a firing squad.
Imam Samudra, a 33-year-old textile merchant, told judges he had nothing to do with the Oct. 12 blasts that killed 202 people, most of them foreign vacationers.
Prosecutors say Samudra -- who could also be executed if convicted -- was the brains behind the plot and that he recruited and trained the bombers.
PHOTO: REUTERS
About three dozen men, all accused of being members of the al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, have been arrested for the Bali bombings.
Last week an Indonesian court brought down the first conviction in the case, sentencing Amrozi bin Nurhasyim to death. Amrozi's lawyers said they would file an appeal later yesterday.
In a formal defense plea to the court, Samudra acknowledged he had surveyed several locations in Bali with another key suspect, Ali Imron.
"I only took a walk around Bali with Ali Imron. I did not know what he was planning," he said reading out the statement.
"I saw many foreigners who were drunk. They were disgusting. They made me sick," he said.
Samudra claimed the US and its allies had attacked and mistreated Muslims.
"Muslims have been made scapegoats for American terrorism around the world," Samudra said.
When asked by judges what he felt about Australia, he replied in a loud voice, "Australia's intervention in East Timor was an act of terrorism."
Australia headed the international peacekeeping troops who stopped Indonesian military and its militia proxies destroying much of East Timor after a UN sponsored ballot, which lead to the independence of Indonesia's former colony in 1999.
An Australian survivor, Ben Tullipan, 37, who had both his legs blown off in the blast, sat in his wheelchair and listened to Samudra's plea.
"I came here to see the [man] who did this to me," he said emotionally. "It's very hard to get over."
Meanwhile, lawyers for Amrozi said they will appeal his conviction and death sentence.
Amrozi, known as the "smiling bomber," was convicted Thursday of helping plan and execute the attacks. He has repeatedly expressed a readiness to die as a martyr and appeared overjoyed when the sentence was read out.
"We have persuaded him to exhaust all avenues to get justice. He was guilty for his role in the attack, but he was not the planner so we do not think he should be shot to death," said his lawyer, Oktriyan. Like many Indonesians, Oktriyan uses a single name.
Death sentences, which are rare in Indonesia, are carried out by a firing squad comprising 15 officers from the paramilitary branch of the national police, known as the Mobile Brigades.
But Oktriyan said the appeal would note that there was no evidence other than testimonies of other defendants placing Amrozi at the planning sessions, and that these were weak and inconsistent.
At least four of the 35 members of the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist gang captured since last year's attacks face charges that carry a possible death sentence.
Also See Story:
Terrorism comes home to roost
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS