Bali bomber to stand trial in Jakarta
Bali bomber to stand trial in Jakarta
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar/Jakarta
The alleged treasurer of the terrorist group responsible for the
Bali bombings will stand trial in Jakarta for his role in the JW
Marriot Hotel blast, police said Monday.
Bali Police detectives chief Sr. Com. Boy Salamudin said Jhoni
Hendrawan, alias Idris, alias Gembrot, had been officially
transferred to Jakarta Police on Oct. 15 after his detention
period in relation to the Bali bomb attacks expired.
He said Bali Police had completed the dossiers of Idris'
questioning, but his trial in connection with the Bali blasts
would be adjusted to his trial in Jakarta.
Idris allegedly participated in several meetings in the
Central Java town of Surakarta to plan and coordinate the Bali
terrorist attack, which killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, in
October last year.
Under the instruction of Abdul Aziz, alias Imam Samudra, the
mastermind of the bombings, Jhoni withdrew a huge sum of money
and used it to finance the bombing operation. The funds
originated from Ali Gufron, alias Mukhlas, allegedly the regional
chief of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
The Denpasar District Court has sentenced Samudra, Mukhlas and
another key suspect, Amrozi, to death, while 26 others have
received prison terms ranging from three years to life
imprisonment. Four other defendants are still on trial.
In September 2002, Idris handed over Rp 23 million in cash to
Amrozi, who later spent it on explosive materials and the down
payment of an L-300 minivan that was used to carry the bombs.
Idris, along with the other perpetrators, went to Bali to
survey the designated targets of the attack.
Police captured Idris in Medan, North Sumatra in June 2003
after an eight-month search.
Separately, the trial of Saad and Heri Hafidin, two of the
last four defendants in the case, was adjourned after 15 minutes
after the defense expressed approval of the charges.
"The indictment has met all legal requirements, therefore we
will not present a defense note," chief defense lawyer Qadhar
Faisal told the court.
Both defendants were charged with harboring and withholding
information about known and wanted terrorists, which carry the
maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
In the South Jakarta District Court, the alleged leader of JI,
Abu Rusdan, alias Thoriquddin, denied accusations he had helped
Mukhlas when he was a fugitive.
Prosecutor Haryono said in his indictment that the
Afghanistan-trained Rusdan was appointed the acting JI emir
(leader) during a meeting at Puncak in West Java in April last
year.
"The defendant assisted Mukhlas, on October 17, 2002 -- five
days after Mukhlas bombed two nightclubs on Bali, allowing him to
take refuge at his residence," the prosecutor said.
Rusdan is charged under the antiterrorism Law No. 15/2003 for
assisting a terrorist suspect, an offense punishable to 15 years
in jail.
The indictment, nevertheless, did not connect Rusdan to the
Bali bombing.
According to the indictment, another JI member named
Zulkarnain led a meeting at Central Java on Oct. 17 in which
Rusdan was unanimously elected JI chief, replacing Muslim cleric
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, who in September was jailed for four years
for taking part in a plot to overthrow the government.
The hearing was adjourned until Wednesday.