Investigators submit dossier on Mukhlas to prosecutors

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Police submitted the case files of Bali bomb suspect Mukhlas to prosecutors on Monday, opening the way for the trial of a top Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) operative in the Southeast Asian region.

The dossier charges Mukhlas, alias Ali Gufron, with planning and supervising the terrorist attacks, which killed at least 190 people, mainly foreign tourists on the resort island, Bali.

If he is found guilty he may face the death penalty.

The 1,046-page case file cited reports of 200 witnesses linking Mukhlas with the attacks, said Bali Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Y. Suyatmo.

Various intelligence sources point to him as a leading JI figure overseeing Southeast Asia. JI is an underground terrorist group that aims to establish a Pan-Southeast Asia Islamic state.

Based in Surakarta, East Java, the group reportedly has bases in Singapore and Malaysia.

Police have said that Mukhlas replaced Hambali after the latter went into hiding when he became a suspect for masterminding a string of church bombings on Christmas Eve 2000. Hambali is still at large.

Police have also detained alleged JI spiritual leader Abu Bakar Ba'asyir in connection with the church bombing, and they are giving consideration to declaring him a suspect in the Bali bombing as well.

However, Mukhlas' exact role in the Bali bombing is unclear.

A Malaysian suspect, Wan Min, claimed to have given Mukhlas US$30,000 for the Bali operation. That money was transferred to Abdul Aziz, alias Imam Samudra, another suspect and the alleged mastermind of the Bali attack.

Samudra, however, denied having received funds from Mukhlas, insisting that he financed the operation by robbing a gold shop in Serang, Banten.

Police spokesman Suyatmo said that the case files contained testimony from dozens of witnesses who knew about the flow of funds for the bombing.

"There are witnesses who know directly about the flow of funds from Wan Min to Mukhlas to finance the Bali bombing," he said, without specifying how the witnesses described the flow.

Mukhlas' confession also provided police with, as yet, the strongest link between the Bali blast and the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. He said it was al-Qaeda that funded the operation. However, no evidence has been found to support his claim.

Mukhlas is the second suspect whose dossier the police have submitted to prosecutors following that of his brother, Amrozi.

State prosecutors will study the dossiers and file the case at the Denpasar court. They have 14 days to respond to the dossier and ask police to revise it if necessary.