Amrozi admits bringing explosives to Bali but denies role in blasts<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
The prime suspect of the Bali bombings, Amrozi, testified on
\nMonday that he transported a vast amount of chemical substances
\nto the resort island, but denied that the blasts that killed 202
\npeople last October were the work of him and his group.<\/p>\n
Reading from his 18-page defense plea before the court here,
\nAmrozi said he delivered 600 kilograms of KCLO3 potassium
\nchlorate mixture from his hometown in Lamongan, but doubted it
\ncould cause massive destruction.<\/p>\n
\"Up to now, I still doubt whether the huge explosion that
\nkilled so many people was caused by all the chemical substances
\nof the bomb from our car,\" Amrozi told the court.<\/p>\n
He accused the United States and Israel of making him a
\nscapegoat for the incident, in which two almost simultaneous
\nblasts ripped through the Sari Club and Paddy's pub in the
\nisland's main tourist area, Kuta.<\/p>\n
Amrozi said he believed that when his L-300 Mitsubishi van
\npassed along Jl. Legian in Kuta, American and Israeli agents
\nmanaged to detect it. And that when his van arrived at a certain
\npoint of the street, they immediately targeted it.<\/p>\n
He said he remained uncertain whether the L-300 van carried
\nthe deadly bomb as there was no precise data or information that
\nproved his van was the source of the bombs.<\/p>\n
Two days after the bombings, the police's forensic laboratory
\ndiscovered remains of the L-300 van and a piece of metal bearing
\nits engine number. Amrozi, however, strongly denied the validity
\nof the findings.<\/p>\n
He said he was certain he had removed the engine number and it
\nwas therefore impossible that the police could still find it.<\/p>\n
\"It was strange to see the judges trying to show a piece of
\nsteel that could reveal the engine number. This item was still in
\ngood condition. There wasn't even a scratch on the steel,\" Amrozi
\nwondered out loud.<\/p>\n
In their defense argument, Amrozi's lawyers Ahmad Wirawan
\nAdnan and Ahmad Mihdan said only four out of the 58 witnesses
\npresented by the prosecutors had any direct link to the suspect.
\nThey were Hernianto, Imam Samudra, Ali Imron and Utomo Pamungkas
\nalias Mubarok.<\/p>\n
The lawyers said none of the witnesses testified that Amrozi
\nwas a bombmaker, planner or the executor.<\/p>\n
\"The prosecutors' accusation that the defendant was the
\nmastermind of the bombing is groundless,\" Adnan said.<\/p>\n
Quoting media reports and observation at the blast site,
\nAmrozi's lawyers said the explosion originated from two different
\ntypes of bombs. Articles they referred to were written by Abdul
\nMu'in Idris, a forensic expert from the University of Indonesia's
\nSchool of Medicine, Z.A. Maulani and Australian writer Joe Vials
\n(Terrorist Lookalike Attack).<\/p>\n
The lawyers concluded that the first explosion was caused by a
\nlow-explosive bomb with the detonation power of below 3,000 per
\nsecond. This bomb was a modest and locally made one, which
\ncontained chlorate. Meanwhile, the second bomb was highly
\nexplosive with a detonation speed of above 3,000 per second,
\nsimilar to RDX and C4. These kinds of bombs have a similar impact
\nto 300 kilograms of TNT.<\/p>\n
\"This type of bomb was manufactured in a sophisticate factory,
\nwhich doesn't exist in Indonesia,\" said Adnan.<\/p>\n
The judge adjourned the trial until Thursday, when the court
\nwill hear the prosecutors' response to Amrozi's defense plea.<\/p>\n
In another courtroom during the trial of suspect Ali Gufron
\nalias Mukhlas, the prosecutor could only present one out of three
\nwitnesses demanded. Imam Samudra was presented as the lone
\nwitness. Other witnesses were to include Kuning Atmadja and Wan
\nMin Wan Mat, but they failed to appear at the court.<\/p>\n
During the trial, the prosecutor had asked the judges for
\npermission to use video conference to hear the testimony of
\nbusinessmen Wan Min Wan Mat, who is in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The suspect's lawyers strongly objected to the idea, while the
\njudge will announce his decision on the matter on Wednesday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/amrozi-admits-bringing-explosives-to-bali-but-denies-role-in-blasts-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}