Death sentence sought for Samudra over Bali bombing
Death sentence sought for Samudra over Bali bombing
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
Prosecutors have requested that Imam Samudra, accused of
masterminding and financing the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings be
sentenced to death.
They argued that the defendant was guilty of planning and
financing the terrorist attack in which at least 202 people,
mostly foreigners, were killed and more than 320 others injured.
"The defendant Abdul Azis alias Imam Samudra... has been
convincingly and legally proven to have jointly planned acts of
terrorism... and jointly provided funding for the Bali bombing,"
chief prosecutor I Nyoman Dilla said at Samudra's trial here on
Monday.
In the 301-page submission the prosecutors said that the
blasts caused fear among the public and the loss of international
trust in Indonesian security.
Previously, government prosecutors demanded a similar penalty
for Amrozy bin Nurhasyim.
The prosecutors further said the defendant should also be
punished for possessing illegal explosives.
"The defendant should be sentenced to two death penalties and
15 years of imprisonment. However, since such punishments do not
exist in our legal system then we will seek the death penalty for
the primary charge of planning and organizing the bombing only,"
Nyoman told the court.
Upon hearing the prosecutors' request, the defendant remained
calm while several observers softly applauded.
Samudra discussed the sentence request with his chief lawyer
Qadhar Faisal. Both agreed to present the judges with a new
defense at the next hearing on Monday Aug, 11.
A survivor of the bombing watching the trial stood up to wave
an Australian flag as Samudra was escorted from the building.
"I am satisfied with the prosecutors's performance. They have
listened to the hopes of the victims and addressed their
psychological pain," 35 year-old Jan Laczynski said.
Jan, who wore a white polo shirt emblazoned with "Sari Club",
the name of the popular night spot that was leveled to the ground
by the bombing, was among 18 foreigners who attended the trial.
Samudra has denied that he chose Bali as the location of the
bombing but he admitted he was disgusted by the behavior of
foreign tourists there.
"I saw bules (white people) doing vicious things, drinking and
adulterous activities," he said earlier this month. "I felt
extremely disgusted."
Samudra, who spent three years in Afghanistan learning warfare
skills, also said at the time that he had wanted to die as a
martyr since he was in junior high school.
He admitted he ran a web page claiming responsibility for the
blasts.
Other key suspects on trial are a man known as Mukhlas, who as
JI's operations chief is said to have authorized the Bali attack,
and Ali Imron, one of the alleged bomb-makers. Mukhlas, Amrozi
and Ali Imron are brothers.