Court rejects Amrozi's defense<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Jongker Rumthe, The Jakarta Post,
\nDenpasar\/Manado<\/p>\n
The Denpasar District Court judges ruled on Thursday that the
\ntrial of Bali bombing suspect Amrozi would continue after they
\nrejected defense objections to his indictment.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge I Made Karna said the court would proceed with
\nexamination of witnesses, beginning on Monday next week.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges, in their 46-page ruling, asserted that
\nthe indictment of Amrozi contained clear, accurate and
\ncomprehensive descriptions, including information on times and
\nlocations, of the crime the defendant allegedly committed.<\/p>\n
\"After careful examination, the judges found the lawyers'
\ndefense objections were unacceptable,\" Karna said.<\/p>\n
In their defense, presented to the court last week, Amrozi's
\nlawyers said the indictment was not only \"blurry\" and inaccurate,
\nbut contradicted the non-retroactive principle of the Indonesian
\nlaw.<\/p>\n
One of his lawyers, Wirawan Adnan said his team would appeal
\nthe court's ruling.<\/p>\n
\"We will contest the decision but will wait until the all of
\nthe witnesses testify,\" Wirawan said.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors have summoned at least 10 bombing survivors to
\ntestify against the defendant. They are part of over 130
\nwitnesses listed by the prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\"The first witnesses will tell the court about the destructive
\nimpact on their lives,\" Bali Prosecutors' Office spokesman
\nMuhammad Salim said.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors will also bring fellow suspects in the Bali
\nbombing to the court to testify against Amrozi.<\/p>\n
Later in the day, the prosecutors submitted the indictments of
\nanother four suspects in the Bali bombing. The indictments of
\nAbdul Rauf, Andi Hidayat, Andi Octavia and Junaedi were handed
\nover to the Denpasar District Court, along with 71 items of
\nphysical evidence.<\/p>\n
The group of suspects, named after their place of origin,
\nSerang in Banten province, were allegedly held responsible for a
\nrobbery of a jewelry shop to finance the bomb attacks in the
\npacked resort area of Kuta last October.<\/p>\n
The Oct. 12, 2002 blasts killed 202 people, mostly foreigners,
\nmaking it the worst terror attack in terms of casualties since
\nthe Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy in the United States.<\/p>\n
Like other Bali bombing suspects, the four men are being
\ncharged under the antiterrorism law, which carries a maximum
\npenalty of death.<\/p>\n
Seperately, in Manado, British Ambassador to Indonesia Richard
\nGozney said his government had not yet considered lifting its
\ntravel advisory for the country's nationals to visit Indonesia,
\nciting the terror threats from the radical Jamaah Islamiyah
\nnetwork, who remain active here.<\/p>\n
Speaking to journalists during his visit to the capital of
\nNorth Sulawesi, Gozney said many Britons, including
\nbusinesspeople, were traumatized by the Bali bombing, which
\nkilled 25 British nationals.<\/p>\n
The police here accused Jamaah Islamiyah, which has apparent
\nlinks to the al-Qaeda terrorist network, of masterminding the
\nBali blasts.<\/p>\n
Gozney said Britain was waiting for more serious measures by
\nthe Indonesian government in dealing with the terror threats
\nbefore it completely lifted the travel advisory.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/court-rejects-amrozis-defense-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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