Lawyers say Jabar not bombing mastermind<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Defense lawyers for Abdul Jabar, the alleged bomber of the
\nPhilippine ambassador's residence and two churches in Jakarta in
\n2000, argued that none of the evidence presented by the
\nprosecution proved the defendant's involvement in masterminding
\nthe bombings.<\/p>\n
"The prosecution failed to make clear what was the defendant's
\nrole in planning the bombings besides his presence at the
\nlocations, which on its own is not enough to prove he was one of
\nthe perpetrators of the bombings," lawyer Qadhar Faisal Ruskanda
\ntold the Central Jakarta District Court.<\/p>\n
The prosecutors had earlier demanded a life sentence for Jabar
\nfor violating the 1951 Emergency Law on the illegal possession of
\nexplosives as well as his alleged involvement in bomb attacks on
\nthe residence of the Philippines ambassador in Central Jakarta on
\nAug. 1, 2000, and the Koinonia Church, East Jakarta, and the
\nAnglican Church in Central Jakarta on Dec. 24 the same year.<\/p>\n
The Aug. 1 blast killed security guard Sofyan Hendrawan and
\nhousemaid Suhantin, and injured 21 others, including the then
\nambassador Leonides T. Caday. Another four people were killed in
\nthe Koinonia Church explosion.<\/p>\n
Jabar admitted to the court that he was recruited by Hambali
\nto assist Dedy Setiono alias Usman and Fatur Rohman Al-Ghozi
\nalias Saad in finding the address of the envoy, procuring a
\nmotorcycle and preparing meals for the two.<\/p>\n
Hambali is under the arrest of the United States authorities
\nafter being arrested in August in Thailand, while al-Ghozi
\nremains a fugitive after having managed to break out of jail in
\nManila in July.<\/p>\n
Jabar claimed that Hambali had paid him a couple of hundred
\nthousand rupiah (Rp 100,000 is the equivalent of about US$11.76).<\/p>\n
"The prosecutors said there were no mitigating factors that
\nshould serve to lighten their sentencing recommendation even
\nthough the defendant cooperated fully during trial and
\nsurrendered to police, not because he was afraid of the law but
\nrather to prove his innocence," Qadhar said.<\/p>\n
Jabar surrendered to police in West Nusa Tenggara early this
\nyear, two years after being declared a fugitive.<\/p>\n
Presiding Judge Pramodana K. Kusumah adjourned the hearing
\nuntil Oct. 2 to hear the prosecution's closing arguments.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/lawyers-say-jabar-not-bombing-mastermind-1447899208",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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