Alleged serial bomber may face life sentence

Alleged serial bomber may face life sentence

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Prosecutors demanded on Wednesday a life sentence for Abdul
Jabar, the alleged bomber of the residence of the Philippines
ambassador in 2001 and two churches in Jakarta in 2000.

Prosecutor Payaman told the Central Jakarta District Court
that the prosecutors had proven the charges on illegal explosive
possession stipulated in the 1951 Emergency Law and involvement
in continual bomb attacks.

"We request the court to find the defendant guilty and
sentence him to life in prison ... The bombing was inhumane and
claimed two lives," he told the court presided by Pramodana K.
Kusumah.

The prosecutors said they could see no reason to lighten the
sentence demand and added that the bombing had caused fear in the
wider community and had the potential to disrupt the nation's
economy.

Jabar took the sentence demand calmly, telling the court: "I'm
not well-versed in matters of law, but several things conveyed by
the prosecutors are just not true".

Jabar, 33, is the son of the late Ahmad Kandai, who had a role
in an assassination attempt on founding President Sukarno during
his visit to the Cikini Education Institute in Central Jakarta on
Nov. 30, 1957. The attempt, using a hand-grenade, failed.

Jabar's two other brothers, Farihin and Mohammad Islam, are
being held for alleged involvement in bombings in Poso, Central
Sulawesi.

Along with Dedy Setiono and Fatur Rohman Al-Ghozi, who was
convicted in the Phillipines on terror charges but recently
escaped from jail and remains on the lam, Jabar admitted that
they were in on the plot to plant a car bomb outside the
residence of the Philippines ambassador in Central Jakarta on
Aug. 1, 2001.

He was assigned to watch the residence and to signal Al-Ghozi
who was holding the remote detonator.

Dedy is facing the death sentence for his involvement in
several bombings in Jakarta while Al-Ghozi remains a fugitive.

The Aug. 1 blast killed security guard Sofyan Hendrawan,
housemaid Suhantin, and injured 21 others, including Ambassador
Leonides T. Caday.

Jabar was also involved in planting bombs at the Koinonia
Church in East Jakarta and the Anglican church in Central Jakarta
on Dec. 24. Four people were killed in the Koinonia church
explosion.

Lawyer Bambang Tri Haryanto said that the defense would use
the fact that Jabar had surrendered to police in West Nusa
Tenggara two years after being declared a fugitive. The next
hearing is set for Sept. 27.