Another defendant jailed for hiding terrorists<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
The Denpasar District Court jailed shrimp farmer Muhajir on
\nMonday for four years for harboring wanted suspects in the Bali
\nbombings.<\/p>\n
He is the last defendant out of the first batch of 29 suspects
\nsentenced for their roles in last year's terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
The trials, which started on May 11, will resume next week,
\nwith four more defendants -- Ahmad Roichan alias Syaad, Syawad
\nalias Sarjio, Umar Wayan alias Abdul Ghoni and Idris -- appearing
\nbefore the court for their alleged roles in mixing the explosives
\nand assembling the bombs later used in the attacks on Oct. 12,
\n2002, which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge I Putu Widnya said Muhajir had obstructed the
\npolice investigation by withholding information on terror
\nsuspects Ali Imron and Hutomo Pamungkas alias Mubarok and
\nproviding them with a hut where the could hide out while on the
\nrun.<\/p>\n
The 43-year-old defendant is the owner of a shrimp farm on the
\nisolated East Kalimantan island of Berukang, where Imron and
\nMubarok were arrested in January.<\/p>\n
Both Imron and Hutomo had earlier been handed life sentences.<\/p>\n
Although the sentences were less than the seven-year jail
\nterms sought by the prosecution, Muhajir's defense lawyer Muadz
\nMasyhadi said the punishment was too severe and stated he would
\nappeal.<\/p>\n
"It is a legally defective verdict as the judges based their
\ndecision on the police interrogation files rather than the facts
\nand information that were adduced during the trial proceedings.
\nTherefore, the verdict is not in line with the Criminal Code,"
\nMuadz said.<\/p>\n
Muadz asserted the defendant had no knowledge about Imron and
\nMubarok, who were working at his shrimp farm, let alone the
\nnature of their criminal activities.<\/p>\n
Muhajir had told the court he employed Imron and Hutomo only
\nbecause his friend Yunus had asked him to do so. Both Imron and
\nHutomo introduced themselves to Muhajir as Mulyadi and Mubarok
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
"I only wanted to help Yunus," Muhajir said.<\/p>\n
Yunus has already been sentenced to seven years in prison.<\/p>\n
"I was set up by Yunus. May I ask the judges to put me in the
\nsame cell as Yunus so that I may avenge myself," Muhajir told the
\ncourt during a previous hearing.<\/p>\n
Three Bali bombing suspects have been sentenced to death while
\nothers have been jailed for terms ranging from three years to
\nlife.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Makassar District Court acquitted Kaharudin
\nMustafa of charges of selling explosives and detonators to the
\nbombers of a McDonald's restaurant in the South Sulawesi capital
\nlast December.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that the court ruled there was no evidence
\nlinking Kaharuddin with the blast, which killed three people.<\/p>\n
The prosecution had demanded a five-year jail term for
\nKaharuddin on charges of selling a detonator to Hisbullah Rasyid,
\none of three key suspects in the case, who remains at large.<\/p>\n
The judges said none of the witnesses had provided
\nincriminating testimony against the defendant. One of them,
\nDahlan, who is also one of the suspects, denied Kaharuddin was
\ninvolved in the attack.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Muldani Fajrin said he would appeal the verdict.<\/p>\n
Ten men have received prison sentences ranging from six to 12
\nyears over that attack, which took place while police were still
\ninvestigating the Bali bombings. Six more suspects are awaiting
\ntrial.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/another-defendant-jailed-for-hiding-terrorists-1447893297",
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