Embassy bomber sentenced to three-and-half years
Embassy bomber sentenced to three-and-half years
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Makassar
The first suspect to face charges in the 2004 bombing of the
Australian Embassy in Jakarta received three-and-a-half years in
prison on Thursday, while prosecutors sought the death sentence
for the alleged mastermind of the 2002 attack on a McDonald's
outlet in South Sulawesi.
The South Jakarta District Court convicted Irun Hidayat of
assisting the perpetrators of the embassy blast that killed 11
people, including one suicide bomber, but cleared him of the more
serious charge of planning the attack.
Dozens of Irun supporters who packed the courtroom shouted
"Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) when the five-judge panel read out
their verdict and before the trial started.
Chief judge Yohannes Binti was quoted by AFP as saying that
Irun was found "legally and convincingly" guilty of being an
accessory to the September 2004 attack.
Prosecutors had recommended a five-year prison term for the
convicted defendant.
The judges said the most serious charge against Irun --
helping plan the attack -- could not be proven. If found guilty
of that, he could have been sentenced to death.
Yohannes said the evidence showed that Irun provided a house
for the alleged masterminds of the embassy attack, Malaysians
Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top, to hide in after the
blast.
The judges also said Irun delivered a letter from the suicide
bomber to his wife.
They also found him guilty of lending cash to another alleged
bomber, Iwan Darmawan Mutho, alias Rois, who is being tried
separately.
Irun, who has admitted giving the cash to Rois on account of
their long friendship, rejected the verdict and said he would
appeal.
"I believe I am innocent and I still believe that I have been
falsely arrested by police," the 38-year-old Muslim preacher said
after the hearing.
He was quoted by AP as saying that "with global politics the
way they are now, it is difficult for people like me who have
been dubbed terrorists" to get a fair trial.
Police are preparing charges against five other people
arrested for the embassy blast.
Separately, prosecutors demanded the death sentence on
Thursday for Agung Abdul Hamid, 38, who is charged with
masterminding the McDonald's restaurant bombing on Dec. 5, 2002,
in Makassar, South Sulawesi, that left three people dead.
He is the first suspect in the case who could face the death
penalty if found guilty by the Makassar District Court.
"Based on statements by witnesses and evidence uncovered in
the trial, the defendant is guilty of committing a terrorist act,
and of controlling, storing and possessing firearms, ammunition
or explosive devices," chief prosecutor Andi Muhammad Taufik told
the court.
He said Agung, alias Yakob, alias Arifin, planned and
mobilized others to carry out the attack on the McDonald's outlet
and a car dealership belonging to Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Responding to the sentencing demand, Agung smiled and said,
"Alhamdulillah" (Praise be to God), while describing the trial as
a "sham".
He rejected all the charges against him. "I am innocent and
the trial has been engineered."
The trial was adjourned until Aug. 1 at which time the court
will hear from the defense.
The Makassar court has convicted 17 people over the attack,
sentencing them to between two years and 20 years. The bombing
came less than two months after bombings at nightclubs in Bali
killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
Many of those found guilty were alleged to have also taken
part in the conflict between Muslims and Christians in Central
Sulawesi in 2000.
The attacks in Makassar and on the Australian Embassy in
Jakarta have been linked to Jamaah Islamiyah. The two fugitive
Malaysians -- Azahari and Noordin -- are key members of the
group.
Police have also blamed Azahari and Noordin for the Bali
bombings and the 2003 attack on Jakarta's Marriott Hotel that
killed 12 people.