Lawyers claim paltry evidence against Amrozi
Lawyers claim paltry evidence against Amrozi
I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali
Lawyers for Amrozi, a key suspect in the Bali bombings, claimed
on Friday that police investigators had insufficient evidence in
his dossier to build a strong case against their client.
"There were too many holes and weaknesses in Amrozi's case
file. This will surely give us an advantage in his upcoming
trial," Muhammad Sya'af, a spokesman for the lawyers, told The
Jakarta Post by phone from Surabaya, East Java.
Amrozi will be the first suspect whose dossier will be
submitted to state prosecutors on Monday, according to the
police.
He was arrested less than one month in his hometown of
Lamongan, East Java, after the Oct. 12 bombings that killed more
than 190 people and injured some 300 others, mostly foreigners.
The police named him as one of the four prime suspects for his
role in providing logistic supplies for the devastating blasts,
including purchasing bomb-making materials and an L-300 minivan
used in the attack.
Sya'af and Amrozi's chief lawyer Suyanto will fly to Bali on
Saturday to re-examine their client's legal dossier before it is
filed with prosecutors.
Sya'af said Amrozi had signed his case file late last month in
the lawyers' presence.
He declined to provide details on what he claimed to be the
weaknesses in Amrozi's case file. However, he said one of the
major flaws concerned the potassium chlorate Amrozi had bought in
great quantity from a chemical shop in Surabaya, East Java.
"Such a chemical substance is widely used in rural areas in
Java as a fertilizer. Edward Aritonang (spokesman for the joint
police investigative team) once said that if potassium chlorate
was mixed in a precise amount with other ingredients, it could
become a dangerous and powerful explosive.
"Well, according to such a way of thinking, a simple writing
pen could surely become a dangerous explosive if it was mixed
with, let's say, RDX, couldn't it?" Sya'af asked rhetorically.
"The real question here is whether Amrozi has the knowledge
and capability to make such explosives, and whether the police
have enough material evidence to prove this," he added.
The lawyer said he believed the available evidence against
Amrozi and other suspects was inadequate, since the investigators
had failed to explain the source of extremely high explosives,
such as RDX and HMX, which were discovered at the blast site.
Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind behind the attack, has
confessed that he used only TNT to bomb Paddy's Cafe and the Sari
Club, and denied any knowledge of RDX.
Sya'af confirmed Amrozi had confessed to a lot of things to
the investigators with regards his role in the bombings, but
countered by saying that a suspect's confessions could not
automatically be considered as legal evidence before the court.
"A confession is one thing, but providing evidence that
substantiates the confession is much more important," Sya'af
said.
Meanwhile, a source close to the investigation claimed that
police had found several pieces of evidence with which to charge
Amrozi, including: several documents; passenger seats of the L-
300 minivan, license plate DK 1324 BS; a white Toyota Crown
sedan, license plate G 8288 B; a green Suzuki Vitara, license
plate L 731 GB; a red Yamaha F1-ZR motorbike, license plate DK
5228 PE; a purchase receipt for potassium chlorate; and a VCD
entitled Perang Salib Baru (The New Crusade).
"The vehicles were connected either with the execution of the
bombings or with their planning. We have found residues of
explosives materials in some of the vehicles and at the places
where Amrozi stayed during his visit to Bali," the source said.
The police have also found written statements from numerous
witnesses from East Java and Bali, who could positively identify
and establish Amrozi's links to both the vehicles and the
chemical substances.
"He could deny all his confessions at the trial, but we will
nail him with evidence and testimony from eyewitnesses," the
source added.