Laptop records shows Samudra responsible for Bali bombing

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Pornographic pictures of Western women, a photo of elderly cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir and a link to a website claiming responsibility for the Bali bombings were found on a computer belonging to alleged bombing mastermind Imam Samudra, a court heard on Monday.

The website contained a statement describing Bali as a "place of sin" and said the Oct. 12, 2002, bombings on the island were in revenge for the U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan in 2001.

The site expressed hatred for Jews and "unbelievers" and called for a holy war against them, police computer experts testified.

Also found on the laptop were images of victims of the Bali blasts, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar and Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as well as of Samudra's alleged accomplice, Amrozi, the experts told the court.

The computer also contained links to several sites known to be gathering points for hackers and criminals specializing in credit card fraud.

"We assume that the laptop's owner had established a line of communication or was involved with the hackers and criminals," Adj. Sr. Comr. Eviantara Brata Mandala, a computer expert with the Indonesian National Police, told the court.

Samudra angrily denied the testimony, claiming the police had planted the photos and links on the computer.

"They were all inserted (into the computer) to corner me. The picture of Ustadz (teacher) Ba'asyir was inserted to corner me, to make me look like I idolize him," he shouted.

Eviantara said the laptop was seized on Nov. 21, 2002, the day Samudra was arrested. It was not switched on between then and the cloning of its hard disk, he added.

He testified that the deleted materials recovered from the computer included pictures of naked Western women, a photo of Bachtiar and a photo of Susilo.

Nicholas Klein, a member of the Australian Federal Police's high-tech crimes unit, testified that he "cloned" the computer's hard disk on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19, in a process to recover deleted files.

A statement claiming responsibility for the devastating bombings came from the Internet site www.istimata.com, he said, adding that the laptop was used to log onto the site on Nov. 18.

Eviantara testified that the statement read that it was created "to answer the questions believers have on the Bali blast incidents".

Samudra said he had seen the laptop, unsealed, a week before officers cloned the hard disk and had been questioned about the istimata site before the hard disk was cloned.

"What was found is not a (web)site but the plan for a site that had not yet been launched," he said.

During the session on Monday, Samudra gestured with his fist toward Klein as the Australian stood less than a meter from the suspect.

Presiding judge Wayan Sugawa immediately warned Samudra to maintain order.

The incident took place when Sugawa asked Samudra, his lawyer, Klein and prosecutors to approach the bench to verify the authenticity of the laptop.

As this was taking place, Samudra turned to face Klein and lifted his clinched right fist toward the Australian police officer, while staring straight at him.

In a low voice, Samudra then said to Klein: "Beware you."

The court also heard testimony from three other witnesses on Monday, who linked Samudra with the 2000 Christmas bombing of a church in Batam, Riau.

William Manopo and his wife Margaretha Kaunang claimed they saw the defendant leave two shopping bags inside the church shortly before the explosion, which killed 19 people.

Samudra dismissed the testimony, saying he was forbidden under Islam from entering a church.

The trial was adjourned until Thursday.