Bomb conspirator gets 3 years, five less than sought by prosecutor
Bomb conspirator gets 3 years, five less than sought by prosecutor
Puji Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru
A defendant accused of assisting the perpetrators of the
Pekanbaru Christmas Eve 2000 bombings has been sentenced to three
years in prison, five years less than requested by the
prosecution.
In the verdict of the Pekanbaru District Court, which was
delivered by presiding judge Jahrul Rabiah in the Women's Hall on
Jl. Pangeran Diponegoro, the court stated that the accused,
Yoesfriyus bin Yunus, alias Datuk Raja Ameh, alias Muchtar, 60,
had been proven beyond all reasonable doubt to have abetted the
bombers of the Batak Protestant Church on Jl. Hangtuah in
Pekanbaru on Dec. 24, 2000.
The panel of judges ruled that the suspect had knowingly
conspired with a number of men who have since been convicted of
terrorism, including Imam Samudra, Tony Togar, Mukhlas, alias Ali
Gufron, Al Faruq and Iskandar.
"The accused has been proven to have pointed out and guided
these men to the locations of a number of churches in Pekanbaru
on Christmas Eve," said Jahrul. He added that the accused had
violated the Criminal Code by not reporting the plot to the
security authorities.
The lenient sentence handed down by the judges was based on
two factors -- the accused had been cooperative during the trial
and his age.
After the verdict had been read out, defense lawyer Muharnis
said he would appeal. "My client is not guilty in the least. The
evidence was clear, so why has he been convicted," asked Muharnis
after the verdict had been read out.
Prosecutor D. Sitepu said that he would consider the judges'
decision. "We will announce our plans after we have received a
copy of the verdict," he said.
The Pekanbaru bombing killed at least two people and took
place at almost the same time as bombings targeting churches
across the country, in which a total of 19 people died.
The bombings are believed to have been the work of regional
terror group Jamaah Islamiyah, which has been blamed for the Bali
and Marriott bombings.