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.