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.