Amrozi sane enough to perpetrate Bali bombings: Psychologists<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Jubilation and the absence of remorse from one of the Bali
\nbombings perpetrators -- Amrozi bin Nurhasyim -- after being
\nhanded down the death sentence, resulted from his blind religious
\nfanaticism and not underlying mental problems, experts say.<\/p>\n
Saparinah Sadli, a social psychologist with the state-run
\nUniversity of Indonesia, said on Friday that Amrozi and other
\nfellow members of the regional terror group, Jamaah Islamiyah
\n(JI), were true believers who were willing to sacrifice their
\nlives in a fight against those they call infidels.<\/p>\n
\"One way or another they will die for what they believe. They
\nhave anticipated this from the very beginning and this explains
\nwhy Amrozi and other suspects in the Bali blast seem to take the
\nlegal process lightly,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
She said the public should not dismiss Amrozi as simply
\nsuffering from a mental disorder as this nullifies the atrocious
\ncrime he has committed.<\/p>\n
Saparinah was commenting on Amrozi's joy after hearing that
\nthe death sentence had been handed down to him.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the panel of judges at the Denpasar District
\nCourt sentenced him to death row, after the trial proved him
\nguilty of planning and executing last year's Bali bombings that
\nclaimed 202 lives, mostly foreign holidaymakers.<\/p>\n
Amrozi is one of 30 suspected members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI)
\n-- an al-Qaeda-linked terror group operating in Southeast Asia --
\nblamed by the government for the carnage.<\/p>\n
Upon hearing the verdict, he smiled broadly and gave two
\nthumbs-up to the court attendants. When facing onlookers and TV
\ncameras in particular, he clenched his fists and shouted Allahu
\nAkbar (God the Almighty). He has also repeatedly said he wanted
\nto die as martyr.<\/p>\n
Amrozi was made infamous as the `smiling terrorist' because of
\nhis penchant for smiling. He was photographed laughing during his
\narrest and filmed joking and conversing with a high-rank police
\nofficial.<\/p>\n
He has always defended his acts as a retribution for the
\nUnited States' and Israel's contribution toward the plight of the
\npeople in Palestine. After hearing the verdict, Amrozi did not
\nseek leniency, as he believed that life was not in the hands of
\njudges.<\/p>\n
Saparinah feared that Amrozi's defiance in the face of death
\ncould induce other fanatics to do the same. \"What he has
\ndisplayed during the trial could convince others not to be afraid
\nto follow his path,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Psychiatrist from the East Java-based Airlangga University,
\nSoetandyo Wingnjosoebroto agreed with Saparinah but said that
\nAmrozi was in fact the victim of a repressive system of religious
\ndoctrines.<\/p>\n
\"However, I can categorize him as a mentally healthy man. I
\nassume he has strongly been indoctrinated by higher authorities
\nin his organization,\" he told the Post.<\/p>\n
The expert also used the term \"brainwashed\" for describing
\nAmrozi's state of mind.<\/p>\n
He explained Amrozi's actions in the court room were a defense
\nmechanism against the outside world, which he perceived as a
\nmenace. \"It also shows that he will fight -- in this case defying
\nthe death sentence -- until the bitter end,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, Amrozi's defense lawyers revealed that the
\nconvict had decided to appeal against the death sentence. \"He has
\nsigned a letter authorizing lawyers to make an appeal,\" lawyer
\nWirawan Adnan said.<\/p>\n
The move could give Amrozi months or years before he faces the
\nfiring squad.<\/p>",
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