Embassy bomber gets death penalty
Embassy bomber gets death penalty
Agencies, Jakarta
A militant vowed revenge after he was sentenced to death on
Tuesday for plotting last year's deadly bombing at the Australian
Embassy in Jakarta, which the judges said was funded by Osama bin
Laden.
Iwan Darmawan Mutho, alias Rois, was convicted of terrorism
and hiding the perpetrators of terrorism, chief judge Rocky
Panjaitan told the South Jakarta District Court.
"The panel of judges declare the defendant legally and
convincingly guilty of carrying out cumulative acts, from
participating in a terrorist crime to intentionally hiding the
suspects of terrorist crimes," he said.
Rois is the first Indonesian sentenced to death for terrorism
since three other Indonesian militants were ordered to die for
the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, including 88
Australians.
He said after the trial he was innocent of the attack that
killed 12 Indonesians, including a suicide bomber, but said he
still welcomed the death sentence and would die a martyr.
As he was led away by armed police and asked if he had any
message for Australia, Rois smiled and said: "All of you will
receive heavier punishment than what you have done to me."
His lawyers said they would appeal the judges' ruling.
"It should be borne in mind that any act of injustice against
Muslims anywhere in the world will not go unavenged. Muslims will
certainly avenge this," said Rois, wearing a traditional Muslim
skullcap.
He said the verdict "comes from Satans and is evil" and
maintained his innocence.
Prosecutors accused Rois of working with the accused
masterminds of the blast, Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and
Noordin M. Top, who are both fugitives and said by police to be
senior members of the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah network.
Rois, 30, bought the vehicle and other materials used in the
bombing and recruited the person who drove the car to the
Australian Embassy fence, prosecutors said.
"The operational funds for the bombing came from Noordin M.
Top. The money was sent via courier by Osama bin Laden. The total
cost was US$10,000," judge Rocky said.
While Rois denied playing a role in the attack, he admitted to
receiving an undisclosed sum from a man called Abdul Rasyid
before the attack. Prosecutors said this was an alias of Noordin.
Rocky said the prosecutors proved that Rois was guilty of the
main charge of "planning to motivate other individuals to carry
out the crime of terrorism".
The chief judge also said Rois was guilty of recruiting the
suicide bomber, of buying the minivan used in the attack, of
conducting surveillance on the target and of preparing safe
houses for Noordin and Azahari.
It was the first time the court had linked the embassy bombing
to Osama bin Laden.
Rocky said the attack was in response to Australia's support
for American policies in the Muslim world.
Rois, who received military training in the Philippines and in
Indonesia's restive island of Maluku between 1999 and 2001,
showed no remorse for the attack, the judge said.
The verdict was welcomed by Australia after outrage greeted
sentence reductions given under a remission program to two-thirds
of the 30 militants convicted over the Bali nightclub bombings.
"The court has delivered the most severe sentence possible for
the bomber's terrible crime. The conviction underlines
Indonesia's determination to prosecute to the full extent of the
law those involved directly or indirectly in terrorism," said
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who is visiting
Europe.
In late August, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for
tighter security in the world's most populous Muslim nation,
saying September and October appeared to be favored months for
attacks.
However, there was no unusual security at the South Jakarta
court where Rois' verdict was being delivered.
Three militants have already been jailed over the attack while
others are undergoing separate trials.
Judges were to rule on Wednesday on whether one of those
accused, Achmad Hasan, should also receive the death penalty.