Bali blast accomplice gets life sentence
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
The Denpasar District Court sentenced on Thursday a man to life imprisonment for his role in the devastating Bali blasts that killed 202 people.
Sarjiyo, alias Sawad, alias Zaenal Abidin, was convicted of conspiring, planning and organizing the Oct. 12, 2002 bombings in Bali.
"We find the defendant guilty beyond any reasonable doubt of participating in a criminal act of terrorism," presiding judge Arif Supratman told the trial of Sarjiyo.
He said the defendant was charged under the antiterror law.
"Consequently, we sentenced the defendant to life imprisonment," Arif added.
He said Sarjiyo traveled to Bali late in September 2002 to survey the locations before mixing up the explosives at a rented house in the neighborhood where the bombings took place.
Responding to the verdict, Sarjiyo immediately stood up and screamed out his intention to challenge the court ruling in the High Court.
"Pak Hakim (judge), I appeal the verdict," he howled, shortly after the panel of judges finished reading out the decision.
Security officers hurriedly whisked Sarjiyo away into a waiting prison van. Because of the outburst, he was not even given a chance to consult with his lawyer Miftachul Ichwan about the verdict against him.
Ichwan declined to comment to the press on the sentence, pending discussions with his client.
Prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Sarjiyo and got just that.
The defendant had faced a possible death sentence but was given life imprisonment because he was not directly involved in carrying out the attack, the court said.
Sarjiyo was the third convicted bomber who was sentenced to life imprisonment. The other two were Ali Imron and Mubarok.
The judges further said that Sarjiyo not only gave his consent to the plan to bomb the two nightclubs full of young revelers, but also agreed to bear the responsibility for mixing the chemical substances and explosive devices into bombs.
"It was Amrozi who informed the defendant on the planning and the task the defendant must carry out," the presiding judge added.
As of Thursday, the court has sentenced a total of 30 men for their roles in the terror attack, one of the worst in Indonesian history
Three key defendants, Amrozi, Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron, were sentenced to death, while several others who aided or abetted the bombers received prison terms ranging from three years to life behind bars.
Currently, three other defendants are standing trial at the Denpasar court.
Also on Thursday at the same court, prosecutors sought a 20- year jail term for Ahmad Roichan, another suspect charged with hiding Ali Gufron.
Meanwhile, lawyers for Amrozi said they would seek a judicial review of their client's conviction as a final legal attempt to keep the firing squad at bay.
The horrendous carnage in the bombings catapulted Indonesia into the front lines of the international war on terror and severely damaged Bali's economy.
Police have blamed the al-Qaeda-linked militant network known as Jamaah Islamiyah for the attack.