Hambali's brother gets four years for role in Marriott bombing
Hambali's brother gets four years for role in Marriott bombing
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A brother of the regional terrorist suspect Riduan Isamudin alias
Hambali was sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday for
helping fund the J.W. Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta last
year.
Judge Abdullah Sidiq of the Central Jakarta District Court
declared Rusman "Gun Gun" Gunawan guilty of channeling US$50,000
to his brother Hambali, currently detained by the United States
at an undisclosed location.
The money went through several hands until it reached
Malaysian fugitives Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top, who
allegedly used the funds for renting a house, buying explosives,
a motorcycle and a van that was later used to bomb the hotel.
The judges, however, cleared Gun Gun of the first charge that
he was directly and intentionally involved in the Aug. 5, 2003
blast, which killed at least 12 people.
Gun Gun's sentence would be reduced by the 10 months he has
spent in detention.
Separately, lawyer Ahmad Kholid said his client knew nothing
and had nothing to do with the money. "He was only asked (by
Hambali) to ask about the money. He did not even know what the
money was for," he said.
Ahmad said his client would likely appeal the verdict.
Prosecutor Payaman, who had proposed an eight-year prison
term, said they would still consider whether or not to appeal.
In a separate trial, Gun Gun's friend, Husni Rijal alias
Ilham Sopandi, was sent to prison for 15 months for falsifying
information on documents to obtain a passport to travel to
Pakistan.
Instead of using his real name, Husni used the name Ilham
Sopandi on his birth certificate, family card and identity card.
Prosecutor Payaman had earlier sought a two-year sentence.
Gun Gun and Husni were arrested in Karachi, Pakistan, in
September 2003, along with five other Indonesian students, 13
Malaysian and two Myanmarese, as Pakistani authorities grew
suspicious that they might be linked to terrorist activities.
Gun Gun and Husni are members of al-Ghuraba, a study group of
Indonesian and Malaysian students in Karachi, Pakistan.
Gun Gun was one of the group's founder. Al-Ghuraba's main
purpose was to train its members to be militants.
The group avows that their members are militants tasked to
protect Islam from its enemies -- Jews, Communists and the United
States -- in any way, including suicide bombing.
They recruited members to join a military camp at the al-Faruq
Camp in Afghanistan. Recruits were taught to use firearms
including the AK-47, M-16, UZI and Makarov pistols.
They were also trained in undercover work, wall climbing,
topography, as well as making explosives.
Gun Gun's brother, Hambali, was believed to be al-Qaeda's link
in Southeast Asia. He was arrested in Thailand in August last
year and has been in U.S. custody ever since at an undisclosed
location.
Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A brother of the regional terrorist suspect Riduan Isamudin alias
Hambali was sentenced to four years in prison on Tuesday for
helping fund the J.W. Marriott hotel bombing in Jakarta last
year.
Judge Abdullah Sidiq of the Central Jakarta District Court
declared Rusman "Gun Gun" Gunawan guilty of channeling US$50,000
to his brother Hambali, currently detained by the United States
at an undisclosed location.
The money went through several hands until it reached
Malaysian fugitives Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top, who
allegedly used the funds for renting a house, buying explosives,
a motorcycle and a van that was later used to bomb the hotel.
The judges, however, cleared Gun Gun of the first charge that
he was directly and intentionally involved in the Aug. 5, 2003
blast, which killed at least 12 people.
Gun Gun's sentence would be reduced by the 10 months he has
spent in detention.
Separately, lawyer Ahmad Kholid said his client knew nothing
and had nothing to do with the money. "He was only asked (by
Hambali) to ask about the money. He did not even know what the
money was for," he said.
Ahmad said his client would likely appeal the verdict.
Prosecutor Payaman, who had proposed an eight-year prison
term, said they would still consider whether or not to appeal.
In a separate trial, Gun Gun's friend, Husni Rijal alias
Ilham Sopandi, was sent to prison for 15 months for falsifying
information on documents to obtain a passport to travel to
Pakistan.
Instead of using his real name, Husni used the name Ilham
Sopandi on his birth certificate, family card and identity card.
Prosecutor Payaman had earlier sought a two-year sentence.
Gun Gun and Husni were arrested in Karachi, Pakistan, in
September 2003, along with five other Indonesian students, 13
Malaysian and two Myanmarese, as Pakistani authorities grew
suspicious that they might be linked to terrorist activities.
Gun Gun and Husni are members of al-Ghuraba, a study group of
Indonesian and Malaysian students in Karachi, Pakistan.
Gun Gun was one of the group's founder. Al-Ghuraba's main
purpose was to train its members to be militants.
The group avows that their members are militants tasked to
protect Islam from its enemies -- Jews, Communists and the United
States -- in any way, including suicide bombing.
They recruited members to join a military camp at the al-Faruq
Camp in Afghanistan. Recruits were taught to use firearms
including the AK-47, M-16, UZI and Makarov pistols.
They were also trained in undercover work, wall climbing,
topography, as well as making explosives.
Gun Gun's brother, Hambali, was believed to be al-Qaeda's link
in Southeast Asia. He was arrested in Thailand in August last
year and has been in U.S. custody ever since at an undisclosed
location.