Alleged JI leader goes on trial

JAKARTA: An alleged top leader of regional terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), Abu Rusdan, went on trial on Wednesday, charged with harboring one of the key suspects in the Bali bombing last October.

The trial, however, was adjourned immediately after it was opened, following protests by defense lawyers that they received copies of the dossier late. The dossier was handed to them a few minutes before the session started.

Abu Rusdan, 43, is accused of harboring Ali Gufron, alias Mukhlas, in October 2002, only days after two powerful bombs ripped through two popular Kuta nightclubs on the resort island.

If found guilty, Abu Rusdan could face up to 15 years imprisonment.

The Denpasar District Court has sentenced Mukhlas to death for his role in the Bali blast, which killed at least 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, and injured over 300 others.

Abu Rusdan was arrested in April this year. Police alleged that he had taken over as JI leader from Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who was sentenced to jail for taking part in a plot to assassinate Megawati Soekarnoputri when she was still vice president. -- JP