Bali court vows to speed up execution of bombers
Bali court vows to speed up execution of bombers
Agence France-Presse, Denpasar
The district court on the island of Bali said on Monday officials would be sent to the prison holding three men convicted of the 2002 Bali bombings to speed up their executions.
Amrozi, Mukhlas and Imam Samudra were sentenced to death by firing squad in August 2003 for their roles in the nightclub bombings on Oct. 12, 2002 that killed 202 people and dealt tourism on the resort island a heavy blow.
The head of the Denpasar District Court, I Nengah Suriada, told more than 50 protesters gathered in front of the provincial legislative council that prosecutors, politicians and judges had all agreed on a speedy execution.
"We need the statement of Amrozi and his friends, or their families ... on whether they will request a presidential pardon or not," Nengah Suriada said.
A team of local politicians, prosecutors and court officials would be dispatched "within weeks" to the prison island of Nusakambangan, off the south coast of Java, to seek the statements once funding had been finalized, he said.
Indonesian law says the convicts cannot be executed until all legal avenues have been exhausted.
Three more bombings on the island earlier this month, which killed 23 people including three suicide bombers, further angered many Balinese already upset by the slow pace of Indonesian justice.
A crowd of more than 1,000 last week ripped down the large steel gates that surround Kerobokan, the Bali prison that had housed the three convicted bombers until they were moved to the more secure facility on Nusakambangan.
Monday's protest was peaceful with dozens of people holding banners and burning an effigy made out of hay and inscribed with the words "Amrozi and friends".
One banner said "Mr President, we need justice", another, "Amrozi and friends should become animal sacrifices for the people of Bali".
Animals are regularly slaughtered on Bali, a Hindu enclave in mainly Muslim Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the National Police began distributing tens of thousands of new photographs showing the computer-reconstructed faces of the three suicide bombers of the Oct. 1 incident.
More than two weeks after the blasts, police are still in the dark as to the identity of the bombers and those behind the attacks.