Seven more bombing suspects tried<\/p>\n
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Seven more suspects went on trial at the Makassar District Court
\non Thursday for their alleged involvement in the Dec. 5, 2002
\nbombings that killed three people and injured 15 others.<\/p>\n
The seven suspects named Muchtar Daeng Lau, Suryadi Mas'ud,
\nLukman bin Husain, Usman Nuraffan, Kaharuddin Mustafa, Hamid
\nRazzaq and Imal Hamid were tried in separate sessions.<\/p>\n
Six of the 13 people who were suspected of involvement in the
\nbombings, stood trial earlier on Monday.<\/p>\n
Hamid and Imal, the father and brother of key suspect Agung
\nAbdul Hamid who is still at large, were charged with assisting
\nthe key suspect to store potassium and TNT at their house and for
\nnot reporting it to the relevant authorities.<\/p>\n
\"The defendants played the role of accomplices in the bombing
\nthat killed three people and injured 15 others. The McDonald's
\nfast-food company suffered Rp 1 billion (US$121.950) in financial
\nlosses while NV Hadji Kalla car dealership suffered Rp 50 million
\nin financial losses,\" a government prosecutor told the court.<\/p>\n
The charges were similar with the ones handed down by
\ngovernment prosecutors against the six defendants who went on
\ntrial on Monday.<\/p>\n
They were all indicted for violating Government Regulation in
\nLieu of Law No. 1\/2002 and Law No. 15\/2003 on antiterrorism. They
\nwill face the death penalty if convicted.<\/p>\n
According to the law, any individual or organization who are
\ninvolved in planning, assembling explosives, detonating
\nexplosives or committing terrorist acts may face the death
\npenalty should they be found guilty. All those collaborating with
\nthe suspects will face similar charges.<\/p>\n
Two other defendants Suryadi Mas'ud and Usman were charged for
\nassembling the explosives along with another suspect Dahlan, who
\nis still at large.<\/p>\n
Both defendants rejected the charges.<\/p>\n
\"The indictments are baseless. They were engineered,\" said
\nUsman after the court session.<\/p>\n
Muchtar Daeng Lau was charged with making sketches of the
\nlocation based on a survey conducted by another suspect Hizbullah
\nRasyid, who is also still at large.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors said that the seven suspects attended a meeting on
\nOct. 14, 2002, at Agung's house around two months prior to the
\nbombings but they failed to report on it to the local
\nauthorities.<\/p>\n
The suspects' lawyers demanded that the seven suspects be
\nmoved to Makassar prison instead of the South Sulawesi Police
\nHeadquarters detention center.<\/p>\n
\"We demand that our clients be moved to Makassar prison for
\neasier communication. They have been under pressure
\npsychologically and mentally in police custody,\" said Nasiruddin
\nPasigai and Abraham Samad, lawyers for Suryadi and Muchtar
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Andi Haedar turned down the demand.<\/p>\n
The court session will be adjourned until Monday to hear the
\nsuspects' defense arguments.<\/p>\n
The trial, held under tight security, was only attended by he
\nsuspects' families.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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