Men tried for hiding terrorist suspects<\/p>\n
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, 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, Abdul
\nAziz, alias Imam Samudra, in Leui Panjang bus terminal in
\nBandung.<\/p>\n
He later drove Samudra to the Griya Serdang Indah housing
\ncomplex in Serang, Banten, where he helped Samudra secure a
\nrented house there.<\/p>\n
\"The defendant knew that Samudra was a wanted fugitive but he
\ndeliberately did not notify authorities. By helping Samudra get
\nthe house the defendant is being charged with harboring, and for
\nhis failure to notify authorities he is being charged with
\nwithholding information,\" Jaya Ardana told the panel of judges
\npresided 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, just five days
\nafter the bombings, the defendant and Mukhlas attended a meeting
\nin Tawangmangu, Surakarta, to discuss, among other things, the
\nperformance of the Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) network, and necessary
\narrangements to find a hide-out for Ali Gufron.<\/p>\n
Both Roichan and Mukhlas are JI members.<\/p>\n
\"In the same month, the defendant harbored Ali Gufron in a
\nhouse at the village of Sayangan Kulon, Laweyan, Surakarta. He
\nalso referred Gufron to a rented house belonging to Abu Dujana,\"
\nEka Swara 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
Roichan first met Mukhlas in Afghanistan in 1984.<\/p>\n
Mukhlas has been sentenced to death in relation to the
\nbombing.<\/p>\n
Both Samudra and Mukhlas have appealed their death sentences,
\nas has the other key convict on death row, Amrozi.<\/p>\n
In the first phase of the trials, all 29 defendants were
\nconvicted with the majority receiving prison sentences of between
\nthree 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-tried-for-hiding-terrorist-suspects-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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