Men on trial for hiding terrorist suspects<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nDenpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
The Denpasar District Court on Monday commenced the trial of two
\npeople charged with hiding key suspects in the Bali bombings
\nwhile they were fugitives.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said in their indictment that defendants Heri
\nHafidin and Ahmad Roichan harbored and withheld information on
\nknown and wanted terrorist suspects.<\/p>\n
The charges carry a maximum 15-year jail sentence under Law
\nNo. 15\/2003 on antiterrorism.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Made Jaya Ardana disclosed that on Nov. 11 and Nov.
\n12, 2002, one month after the bloody Bali bombings that killed
\n202 people, Hafidin picked up his high school classmate, Imam
\nSamudra, in Leui Panjang bus terminal in Bandung, drove him to
\nSerang, Banten and rented house there.<\/p>\n
\"The defendant knew that Samudra was a wanted fugitive but he
\ndeliberately did not notify authorities, he is being charged with
\nharboring criminal and for withholding information,\" Jaya Ardana
\ntold the court presided over by Nurul Hasanah.<\/p>\n
At one point, according to the prosecutor, Samudra told
\nHafidin about his involvement in the bombings.<\/p>\n
Samudra has been sentenced to death for his role in the bomb
\nattack.<\/p>\n
In a separate trial, prosecutor Ketut Eka Swara told the court
\nhow the defendant Ahmad Roichan helped Ali Gufron, alias
\nMukhlas, evade police in the weeks after the bombings.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor said that on Oct. 17, 2002, five days after the
\nbombings, the defendant and Mukhlas attended a meeting in
\nTawangmangu, Surakarta, to discuss, the performance of the Jamaah
\nIslamiyah (JI) network, and necessary arrangements to find a
\nhide-out for Ali Gufron.<\/p>\n
Both Roichan and Mukhlas, has been sentenced to death, are JI
\nmembers and first met in Afghanistan in 1984.<\/p>\n
\"In the same month, the defendant harbored Ali Gufron in a
\nhouse at the village of Sayangan Kulon, Laweyan, Surakarta,\" Eka
\nSwara said.<\/p>\n
Moreover, the police also seized 193 live rounds of ammunition
\nof various calibers from the defendant.<\/p>\n
\"Thus, we also charge the defendant with illegal possession of
\nfirearms and explosives,\" he said. The crime carries a maximum
\npenalty of death according to the Emergency Law No. 12\/1951,<\/p>\n
Both Samudra and Mukhlas have appealed their death sentences,
\nas has the other key convict on death row, Amrozi.<\/p>\n
All 29 defendants were convicted with the majority receiving
\nprison sentences of between three years and life imprisonment.<\/p>\n
The trials of remaining suspects Abdul Ghoni, alias Umar and
\nWayan, and Syawad, alias Sarjiyo, will start next week.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/men-on-trial-for-hiding-terrorist-suspects-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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