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