Acehnese man on trial in deadly bomb blast

Acehnese man on trial in deadly bomb blast

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court began on Wednesday a trial of
an Acehnese man involved in a bombing case that ended in the
explosion of a dormitory here on May 10, and claimed three lives.

Defendant Hidayatullah alias Mussali, 34, was charged with
illegal firearms possession, according to the indictment, which
was presented by Prosecutor Edi Dikdaya.

"The defendant knew about the bombs but failed to report to
the police about it," Edi told the court, presided over by Judge
Abdul Kadir.

According to the prosecutor, early in May, Hidayatullah, who
was in Medan, received a letter from Muhadar alias Gafi,
currently a fugitive, inviting him and bomb expert Kardu to come
to the city to join a demonstration.

After they arrived here, they went to an Acehnese dormitory
belonging to the Iskandar Muda Foundation in South Jakarta.

They stayed in the dorm after being given approval from the
foundation chief, Taufik Abdullah. Muslihul, a tenant of room No.
9, allowed them to share his room.

"In the evening, Muhadar came by. He and Kardu discussed a
plan to explode the city in order to rock the security here and
create widespread chaos," said Edi.

Three days before the incident, the defendant saw a stick of
explosive material on a bed in his room. When he asked Muhadar
about the material, the fugitive ordered him to save it in a blue
bag.

On May 10, Muhadar, Tarmizi, Hidyana Ramli alias Diana, Cek
Wie alias Darma Wijaya, Kardu and Billie came to the room. Later,
at about 4 p.m., there was an explosion in room No. 9.

Cek Wie, Kardu and Billie died during the incident, while
Muhadar, Tarmizi and Diana escaped. They are currently in hiding.

The explosion was made by the material, which Hidayatullah saw
several days before the incident, and a bomb, which was entrusted
by Gafi to Taufik. Police reports said that the bombs were made
with the highly explosive Trinitrotoluene (TNT).

Hidayatullah was not in the house when the explosion occurred.

Hidayatullah told the court on Wednesday that he would not
present his objection to the indictment.

"The indictment is true," he said calmly.

Therefore, the court will resume next week to hear testimony
from the four witnesses.