Bali bomber Ali Imron asks for President's mercy

Bali bomber Ali Imron asks for President's mercy

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Remorseful Bali bomber Ali Imron, who was sentenced to life in
prison, requested clemency on Wednesday from President Megawati
Soekarnoputri.

Imron's lawyer, Suyanto, told reporters he did not expect the
President to order Imron to be freed, but hoped instead that she
would reduce his sentence to a maximum of 20 years in jail.

"Even though she is the president, she is also a mother.
That's why we are trying to prick her conscience," Suyanto said
after officially filing his client's request with the Denpasar
District Court.

He said the chance was there for his client to win clemency
from Megawati as Indonesia still had a culture of forgiveness.

In his letter, Imron asked the President to take his genuine
remorse and the confession of guilt he made during his trial into
consideration.

Unlike his brother, Amrozi, and fellow key bombing perpetrator
Abdul Aziz alias Imam Samudra, who both appealed the death
sentences handed down to them, Imron accepted the court's
verdict. He received a life sentence, more than the 20-year term
recommended by prosecutors.

Imron was found guilty of planning, conspiring in and
organizing the bomb attacks on Bali on Oct. 12, 2002, which left
202 people, mostly foreigners, dead and hundreds injured.
Terrorism carries the death penalty.

Under Indonesian law, an appeal court can increase, reduce or
quash sentences. A clemency request to the president carries less
risk because the head of state is not allowed to increase the
punishment.

Suyanto said Imron had acknowledged he had misunderstood the
true meaning of jihad and had asked Muslims not to follow in his
footsteps.

The same court will deliver the verdict on another key
suspect, Ali Gufron alias Mukhlas, Imron's elder brother, on
Thursday. If found guilty, the defendant may end up facing a
firing squad for his role in the bombings.

Amrozi and Samudra are the only suspects in the Bali terror
attacks so far who have been sentenced to death, while 13 others
have received prison terms ranging from seven years to life.

Separately, chief of the Bali Prosecutor's Office, I Ketut
Yona, said a Bali bombing suspect now in the Bali police's
custody, Jhony Hendrawan alias Idris, might end up being tried in
Jakarta.

"We have not received any confirmation yet as everything is
still being discussed in Jakarta. But as far as the plan meets
the legal procedures, I think the possibility is there," Yona
said.

Idris' trial may be moved to Jakarta due to his alleged links
to the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in the capital, which claimed 12
lives.