Rusydan faces Nine-year prison term

Rusydan faces Nine-year prison term

JAKARTA: Prosecutors proposed a nine-year prison sentence for
Abu Rusydan alias Hamzah on Monday. Rusydan is on trial for
withholding information on the whereabouts of a suspect in Bali
bombing in 2002.

Prosecutor Haryono told the South Jakarta District Court that
the defendant had violated the government regulation in lieu of
Law No. 1/2002 on terrorism.

"All testimonies, evidence, even the defendant's statements
lead to the fact that the defendant violated the law by providing
facilities, while withholding evidence on terrorist activities
and suspect Ali Gufron alias Mukhlas."

Gufron, who has been sentenced to death for his role in the
Bali bombings, never appeared in court to testify as a key
witness for Rusydan.

Rusydan's last meeting with Gufron was in Tawang Mangu,
Surakarta, Central Java, in October 2002, five days after the
Bali bombings on Oct. 12.

"I don't deserve a day in prison... The police were yet to
name Gufron a suspect when we met in Tawang Mangu," Rusydan told
the court.

Presiding judge Mahmoud Rahimi adjourned the hearing until
Jan. 26 to hear the defense. -- JP