Amrozi, mechanic turned terror suspect

Amrozi, mechanic turned terror suspect

Terror suspect Amrozi is seen playing with his son in this
undated photo (above). The police have named Amrozi, arrested in
Lamongan, East Java, on Tuesday, a prime suspect in the deadly
Bali bombing. But who is Amrozi?

His neighbors in Tenggulun village in Selopuro district,
Lamongan, know the 30 year old as a mechanic who runs a motorbike
repair shop and sometimes sells used cars and cell phones to make
a living.

People often asked him to install an additional antenna on
their cell phones because the cellular signal is low in his
village.

Police say one of the bombs detonated in Bali on Oct. 12 was
triggered by a mobile phone switched to vibrating mode, but it is
not yet known whether Amrozi played a role in this part of the
incident.

Muhammad Zakaria of the Al-Islam boarding school in Lamongan
describes Amrozi as a sociable person who holds no radical views
of Islam.

Amrozi was not a student at Al-Islam, but often visited it to
pray or listen to sermons, including two graduation sermons
delivered by detained terrorism suspect Abu Bakar Ba'asyir on
June 16, 2001 and June 17, 2002. However, he apparently never met
the Muslim cleric.

Amrozi divorced his first wife and reportedly married another
woman. His first wife, Astuti, complained that he spent most of
him time with friends and was rarely at home.

1990: Amrozi went to Malaysia to work in the construction
sector.

1993: Amrozi's older brother, Khozin, established Al-Islam
boarding school and assigned Muhammad Zakaria as head of the
school. Zakaria is a 1992 alumni of Al-Mukmin Islamic boarding
school in Ngruki, Surakarta, Central Java, which was founded by
Ba'asyir.

1997: Amrozi paid a short visit to Lamongan and returned to
Malaysia.

2000: Amrozi was seen again in Lamongan but reportedly left
his house for a long period of time.

Oct. 12, 2002: Amrozi was apparently watching TV at his house
along with a Lamongan forest ranger named Kamar.

Nov. 5, 2002: Amrozi was arrested in Paciran village in
Lamongan regency, East Java, as the last owner of the Mitsubishi
L-300 van that was used in the blast.

Nov. 7, 2002: Amrozi was taken to Bali for further
questioning. Police announced that Amrozi had admitted to being
the field coordinator of the group that carried out the Bali
bombings. --JP