Key Bali suspects to testify in Ba'asyir's trial<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Four key suspects in the deadly Bali bombings were flown to
\nJakarta on Tuesday to testify in the trial of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir,
\nthe alleged leader of regional terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah
\n(JI).<\/p>\n
Ali Imron, Imam Samudra, Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, and
\nMubarok left the island aboard a chartered plane, handcuffed and
\nwith a heavy police guard. The four, all of whom are believed to
\nbe JI members, were to testify at Ba'asyir's trial, scheduled for
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir, 64, is currently on trial for treason and
\nimmigration violations and faces a jail sentence of up to 20
\nyears if convicted. Prosecutors have identified Ba'asyir as the
\nchairman of JI.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors also accused Ba'asyir of authorizing the Christmas
\nEve bombings in 2000, which killed 19 people.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir is further accused of discussing an attack on U.S.
\ninterests in Singapore and of ordering the assassination of
\nPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri when she was still vice
\npresident. The plot was not carried out.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, one of the judges, Andi Samsan Nganro, said the
\nfour "are the means for prosecutors to unearth facts that will
\nstrengthen their indictment" against Ba'asyir.<\/p>\n
"Hopefully, the trial will reveal whether or not there is a
\nlink between Ba'asyir and these four men," Andi was quoted by
\nAgence France Presse as saying on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Authorities have accused JI as being behind the Bali bombings,
\nwhich killed at least 202 people and injured over 350 others.<\/p>\n
Ba'asyir has not been accused of having a role in those blasts
\nbut key Bali suspects, including Samudra and Mukhlas, have been
\nnamed in his indictment.<\/p>\n
Mukhlas is said to be a senior figure in JI. He was the
\noverall supervisor of the Bali attack. Samudra was the alleged
\nbombing field commander, who selected the targets and was a
\nleading JI member.<\/p>\n
Ali Imron, a brother of Mukhlas, is said to have helped
\nassemble the bombs and drive the van that carried them. Mubarok
\nis said to have helped drive to Bali a van that housed one bomb.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, police interrogated on Tuesday night three
\njournalists after they went onto the apron of Ngurah Rai Airport
\nas the four suspects boarded a chartered flight.<\/p>\n
They were identified as Syafrudin Siregar, a
\nBali-based correspondent for RCTI television
\nstation, Budi Santoso, a Metro TV
\nnews channel cameraman and Stephanus Wibowo of Sonora radio
\nstation.<\/p>\n
As of 9 p.m. local time the three were still
\nbeing questioned at the airport police station.<\/p>",
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