Amrozi gives death sentence demand a thumbs-down

Amrozi gives death sentence demand a thumbs-down

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Key Bali bombing suspect Amrozi continued to express indifference
at his trial that could send him before a firing squad.

The defendant, nicknamed the "smiling bomber", made a thumbs-
down gesture and grinned broadly before prosecutor Erna
Normawati, whose team maintained, in their rebuttal of Amrozi's
defense argument, their demand for the death sentence.

Erna said Amrozi gave the signal while being escorted from the
courtroom at the Nari Graha building to a waiting armored vehicle
that would take him back to his cell.

"He was passing in front of me when he started grinning widely
and turned his right hand counterclockwise so that his thumb
pointed downward," she said.

He expressed apathy earlier while Erna read out the 16-page
prosecutors' rebuttal. They asked the judges to reject the entire
defense argument presented by the defendant's lawyers.

The prosecutors reiterated that the judges fulfill the capital
punishment demand for Amrozi, who is being charged with planning,
organizing and executing the Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002,
which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

In their response, the prosecutors also attacked the defense
lawyers, accusing them of over-zealously "fabricating a flawed
defense filled with nonsense and careless legal interpretations."

Both Amrozi and his top lawyer, Ahmad Wirawan Adnan,
repeatedly smiled at the prosecutors' words. Citing an analysis
from a former intelligence official, the lawyers said in their
client's defense that a third party might have carried out the
bombings.

Erna stressed that the defendant's activities prior to the
bombings proved that the attacks were premeditated and well-
planned.

"Was it possible to carry out a bombing, which involved many
perpetrators, without prior planning? We believe that it was
impossible, because there would have been so many things that
needed synchronizing in such an operation," Erna said.

The perpetrators would have to agree on the target, timing,
funding sources and executors, Erna added. Such an agreement
could only have been reached through meetings.

Previously, although admitting to have bought the explosive
materials and the L-300 minivan, which were later used in the
attacks, Amrozi vehemently denied that a number of preparations
were made.

His lawyers also insisted that Amrozi was not the brains
behind the bombings, the deadliest since the terror attack on the
United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

One of the defense lawyers, Ahmad Wirawan Adnan, asked the
judges for a chance to deliver an oral response to prosecutors
but was turned down by presiding judge I Made Karna Parna.
Instead, the judge gave the lawyers three days to draft their
written response, which would be read out during the next hearing
on July 21.

Meanwhile, Amrozi demanded more lawyers and more time to
consult with them.

"All this time I have only been given 10 minutes to meet and
discuss the case with my lawyers. Sometimes, the allocated time
had run out before I even had a chance to express what was in my
mind and engage my lawyers in discussion. I asked you to provide
me with more time; some 20 to 30 minutes would have been
sufficient for us," Amrozi said.

The judges said they would take the request into
consideration.

Separately, Bali Prosecutor's Office spokesman Muhammad Salim
said Amrozi's trial was expected to be completed by the end of
this month.

"There will be at least three more sessions, so by the end of
this month, the judges, hopefully, will hand down the verdict,"
he said.