Gufron sentenced to death<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Another key defendant in the deadly Bali bombings was sentenced
\nto death on Thursday, bringing the number of Bali bombers
\nsentenced to die to three.<\/p>\n
The Denpasar District Court passed the verdict on Ali Ghufron,
\nbetter known as Muklas, after finding him guilty of planning the
\nattack that killed more than 200 people and injured more than 300
\nothers last October 2002.<\/p>\n
\"The defendant, Ali Ghufron ... has been legally and
\nconvincingly proven guilty of having, together with others,
\nplanned an act of terrorism and also of being in illegal
\npossession of explosives,\" said Judge Cokorda Raka Suamba of the
\nDenpasar District Court.<\/p>\n
\"We punish the defendant with the death sentence.\"<\/p>\n
Muklas, after consulting his lawyers, said he would appeal the
\nverdict.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the same court sentenced Muklas's brother Amrozi and
\nAbdul Azis alias Imam Samudra to death for their roles in the
\ndeadly attacks. Amrozi purchased the car used in the terrorist
\nattack, while Imam Samudra was allegedly the field commander of
\nthe bombings.<\/p>\n
Judges deemed that Muklas had no positive behavior that could
\nlighten the verdict.<\/p>\n
Instead, he declared himself innocent of his crime that had
\nkilled many people, saying that the bomb attack was an act of
\ndevotion to God.<\/p>\n
The judges also said that Muklas had participated in a number
\nof meetings to plan the attack.<\/p>\n
He had also channeled US$30,500 and 200,000 baht from another
\nsuspect, Wan Min Wan Mat, to pay the other Bali bombers. Wan Min
\nis now detained in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Muklas himself had claimed that he met Osama bin Laden, the
\nleader of terrorist network al-Qaeda, when he was in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
After the verdict, Muklas shouted three times: \"Allahu Akbar!\"
\n(God is greatest).<\/p>\n
He immediately appealed to the High Court as he believed the
\nlegal basis of the verdict was not in line with his faith.<\/p>\n
\"Muklas, you will never win,\" Ashley Stanger, a relative of an
\nAustralian victim from Bendigo, shouted.<\/p>\n
In a separate court, judges sentenced Hamzah Baya to six years
\nfor aiding Ali Imron's escape from East Java to East Kalimantan
\nafter the blast.<\/p>\n
The sentence imposed on Hamzah, who was known as a member of
\nthe East Kalimantan Group, is less than the prosecutor's demand
\nof 8.5 years in jail.<\/p>\n
With the verdicts against Muklas and Hamzah, 17 of more than
\n30 suspected Bali bombers have been punished so far.<\/p>\n
The sentences have ranged from death to life in jail and three
\nyears jail.<\/p>\n
Ali Imron, who was jailed for life after expressing remorse,
\nhas appealed for a presidential clemency.<\/p>\n
Separately, the court in Makassar, the capital of South
\nSulawesi, sentenced on Thursday Khaerul, alias Matto, to seven
\nyears in jail for hiding Agung Hamid, a key suspect of the Dec. 5
\nMakassar bombings, Antara said.<\/p>\n
Hamid remains on the run.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors have said that Khaerul was residing in a small
\nvillage near Poso in the restive district of the same name in
\nCentral Sulawesi when the bombings took place.<\/p>\n
They have said the defendant helped hide Hamid in his home
\nafter the bombings.<\/p>\n
The report did not say whether Khaerul appealed the sentence,
\nwhich was three years lighter than what the prosecutors had
\nrecommended.<\/p>\n
Three people -- including the attacker -- were killed in the
\nbombings that targeted a McDonalds fast food outlet and a car
\nshowroom.<\/p>\n
Some 20 suspects are in custody and at least three people have
\nbeen jailed for up to seven years for their role in the bombings.<\/p>\n
Police have said that some suspects in the Makassar bombings
\nknew those behind the Bali blasts.<\/p>\n
Investigators have blamed the Bali attack on Jemaah Islamiyah,
\nan al Qaeda-linked regional terror network.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gufron-sentenced-to-death-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}