Batam church bombing `linked to Bali'

Batam church bombing `linked to Bali'

A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Accompanied by lawyers for the first time, the suspected
principal planner of the Bali bomb blasts, Imam Samudra, told the
police on Wednesday he was responsible for a church bombing in
Batam, Riau, that was liked to the Bali attack.

Emerging from National Police Headquarters on Wednesday
evening, Samudra's lawyers Achmad Hamidhan and Adnan said their
client had been asked 21 questions by police interrogators.

Samudra, who appeared pale during the session, admitted he was
involved in the Batam church bombing, said Hamidhan without going
into what role Samudra played in the attack.

According to Hamidhan, Samudra also told investigators the
Batam bombing was linked to the Bali bombing. However, Hamidhan
did not go into detail.

"During questioning the police also showed him some
photographs of people, and Samudra admitted that he knew some of
them," said Hamidhan as quoted by Antara news agency.

The questioning on Wednesday centered around the Batam and
Pekanbaru (Riau) bombings, as police work to uncover a string of
church bombings in the country.

For the first time on Wednesday, Samudra was accompanied by
lawyers during questioning.

National Police spokesmen Insp. Gen. Basyir Barmawi and Brig.
Gen. Edward Aritonang said the police did not violate the law
when they questioned Samudra earlier without the presence of his
lawyers.

Aritonang contended that based on the government regulation in
lieu of law on terrorism, the police were allowed to detain and
question a terror suspect for seven days without the suspect's
lawyers being present.

He added that Samudra only asked for lawyers on Monday.

Earlier in the day, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar
said Samudra admitted that he knew Riduan Isamudin, alias
Hambali, the suspected Southeast Asian head of the outlawed
Jamaah Islamiyah.

During questioning last week, according to Da'i, Samudra
denied any links with Hambali and said he only knew him because
the two lived in the same neighborhood in Malaysia.

As part of his spiritual journey, Samudra lived in Malaysia
and Afghanistan, where he learned to use weapons and assemble
bombs.

"He previously denied it. But later he admitted to police that
he knew Hambali," said the four-star general.

However, he refused to go into detail about the links between
Samudra and Hambali, saying the police were still investigating.

The police have also arrested another key suspect in the Bali
bombing, Amrozi. Like Samudra, Amrozi has also confessed to a
role in the attack. In addition to these two main suspects, the
police have detained 13 people believed to be indirectly involved
in the plot.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI), considered to
be Indonesia's highest authority on Islam, voiced appreciation on
Wednesday for the police's efforts to arrest those suspected of
the Oct. 12 Bali bombings, which killed more than 190 people,
mostly foreigners.

MUI secretary-general Din Syamsuddin said those responsible
for the Bali bomb attack should receive the "heaviest sentence
possible".

"We are asking for the bombing perpetrators to be given the
heaviest possible punishment because they took the lives of other
human beings," Din told Antara.

Under the government regulation in lieu of law on terrorism,
acts of terrorism are punishable by death.