Amrozi sane enough to perpetrate Bali bombings: Psychologists
Amrozi sane enough to perpetrate Bali bombings: Psychologists
M. Taufiqurrahman
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Jubilation and the absence of remorse from one of the Bali
bombings perpetrators -- Amrozi bin Nurhasyim -- after being
handed down the death sentence, resulted from his blind religious
fanaticism and not underlying mental problems, experts say.
Saparinah Sadli, a social psychologist with the state-run
University of Indonesia, said on Friday that Amrozi and other
fellow members of the regional terror group, Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI), were true believers who were willing to sacrifice their
lives in a fight against those they call infidels.
"One way or another they will die for what they believe. They
have anticipated this from the very beginning and this explains
why Amrozi and other suspects in the Bali blast seem to take the
legal process lightly," she told The Jakarta Post.
She said the public should not dismiss Amrozi as simply
suffering from a mental disorder as this nullifies the atrocious
crime he has committed.
Saparinah was commenting on Amrozi's joy after hearing that
the death sentence had been handed down to him.
On Thursday, the panel of judges at the Denpasar District
Court sentenced him to death row, after the trial proved him
guilty of planning and executing last year's Bali bombings that
claimed 202 lives, mostly foreign holidaymakers.
Amrozi is one of 30 suspected members of Jamaah Islamiyah (JI)
-- an al-Qaeda-linked terror group operating in Southeast Asia --
blamed by the government for the carnage.
Upon hearing the verdict, he smiled broadly and gave two
thumbs-up to the court attendants. When facing onlookers and TV
cameras in particular, he clenched his fists and shouted Allahu
Akbar (God the Almighty). He has also repeatedly said he wanted
to die as martyr.
Amrozi was made infamous as the `smiling terrorist' because of
his penchant for smiling. He was photographed laughing during his
arrest and filmed joking and conversing with a high-rank police
official.
He has always defended his acts as a retribution for the
United States' and Israel's contribution toward the plight of the
people in Palestine. After hearing the verdict, Amrozi did not
seek leniency, as he believed that life was not in the hands of
judges.
Saparinah feared that Amrozi's defiance in the face of death
could induce other fanatics to do the same. "What he has
displayed during the trial could convince others not to be afraid
to follow his path," she said.
Psychiatrist from the East Java-based Airlangga University,
Soetandyo Wingnjosoebroto agreed with Saparinah but said that
Amrozi was in fact the victim of a repressive system of religious
doctrines.
"However, I can categorize him as a mentally healthy man. I
assume he has strongly been indoctrinated by higher authorities
in his organization," he told the Post.
The expert also used the term "brainwashed" for describing
Amrozi's state of mind.
He explained Amrozi's actions in the court room were a defense
mechanism against the outside world, which he perceived as a
menace. "It also shows that he will fight -- in this case defying
the death sentence -- until the bitter end," he said.
Later in the day, Amrozi's defense lawyers revealed that the
convict had decided to appeal against the death sentence. "He has
signed a letter authorizing lawyers to make an appeal," lawyer
Wirawan Adnan said.
The move could give Amrozi months or years before he faces the
firing squad.