Bombing suspects show defiance

Bombing suspects show defiance

Wahyoe Boediwardhana
The Jakarta Post
Denpasar, Bali

Key Bali bombings suspect Abdul Azis alias Imam Samudra sparked
anger among the panel of judges trying another suspect Ali Imron
on Monday as he opted to remain silent when called on to testify.

Samudra simply replied, "I don't know", in response to the
judges' questions.

The 33-year-old Samudra testified that he did not know who
carried out last October's bomb attacks or whether they were
linked to a particular organization.

He strongly denied the judges' statement when they verified
his written statement with Imron's dossier, where he disclosed a
meeting in the Central Java town of Surakarta that led to the
planning and execution of the bombings.

"For God's sake. There was no talk about the bombings at that
time. My testimony in the dossier is baseless," Samudra said.

Everybody, he said, knew that he was under strong pressure to
provide the police with the information they demanded.

"I was physically and mentally tortured. That was an open
secret," Imam added. Like another suspect, Amrozi, Samudra also
retracted his written statements against Imron.

Samudra, Amrozi and Imron are all charged with planning and
executing the Bali bombings, which claimed 202 lives.

Samudra's denials drew the ire of the judges.

"You have sworn to tell the truth," one of the judges
cautioned Samudra.

Police have said the terror attack in Bali was the work of the
al Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), to which Samudra and his
fellow suspects allegedly belong.

The other suspect who appeared in court on Monday, Amrozi,
also refused to testify, citing the law which allows a witness to
refuse to testify against a family or blood relation. Imron is
Amrozi's younger brother.

Despite facing the death sentence, both Samudra and Amrozi
appear to take the trial lightly.

When passing Imron after the session, Samudra pointed to
Imron. "Where is your beard. Now, you're wearing a tie?"

"I can look different," replied Imron.

Amrozi pretended to being unable to recognize his brother when
asked by the panel of judges if he knew the defendant.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell the defendant from his lawyers. They
look so similar (wearing similar clothes)," Amrozi said.

As in the previous sessions, Imron was dressed in a formal
suit and tie. Amrozi and Samudra have always refused to dress
specially for the court.

During the trial, Amrozi has withdrawn all the written
statements that he made during his questioning by the Bali
Police. He insisted on doing this despite the fact that he had
already signed them.

Before leaving the courtroom, Amrozi affectionately waved his
hand at his younger brother.

Another witness, the owner of a motor car showroom, Henri
Pribadi, said at first he did not believe the defendant was the
one who bought a Yamaha F1ZR motorcycle before the bombings.

"It was not him," Henri told the presiding judge.

Presiding Judge Mulyani repeated the question three times to
make sure the witness had told the truth. "I hope that the
witness can remain calm and focused. Just look at his face
carefully. Do you remember if he was the one that bought a
motorcycle from your show room?" Mulyani asked.

Henri changed his testimony after he saw Imron's face up
close. "I remember his teeth. Yes, It was he who bought the
motorcycle at my show room," Henri said.

Imron's trial was adjourned until next Wednesday to hear other
testimony.