Lawyers say Jabar not bombing mastermind

Lawyers say Jabar not bombing mastermind

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Defense lawyers for Abdul Jabar, the alleged bomber of the
Philippine ambassador's residence and two churches in Jakarta in
2000, argued that none of the evidence presented by the
prosecution proved the defendant's involvement in masterminding
the bombings.

"The prosecution failed to make clear what was the defendant's
role in planning the bombings besides his presence at the
locations, which on its own is not enough to prove he was one of
the perpetrators of the bombings," lawyer Qadhar Faisal Ruskanda
told the Central Jakarta District Court.

The prosecutors had earlier demanded a life sentence for Jabar
for violating the 1951 Emergency Law on the illegal possession of
explosives as well as his alleged involvement in bomb attacks on
the residence of the Philippines ambassador in Central Jakarta on
Aug. 1, 2000, and the Koinonia Church, East Jakarta, and the
Anglican Church in Central Jakarta on Dec. 24 the same year.

The Aug. 1 blast killed security guard Sofyan Hendrawan and
housemaid Suhantin, and injured 21 others, including the then
ambassador Leonides T. Caday. Another four people were killed in
the Koinonia Church explosion.

Jabar admitted to the court that he was recruited by Hambali
to assist Dedy Setiono alias Usman and Fatur Rohman Al-Ghozi
alias Saad in finding the address of the envoy, procuring a
motorcycle and preparing meals for the two.

Hambali is under the arrest of the United States authorities
after being arrested in August in Thailand, while al-Ghozi
remains a fugitive after having managed to break out of jail in
Manila in July.

Jabar claimed that Hambali had paid him a couple of hundred
thousand rupiah (Rp 100,000 is the equivalent of about US$11.76).

"The prosecutors said there were no mitigating factors that
should serve to lighten their sentencing recommendation even
though the defendant cooperated fully during trial and
surrendered to police, not because he was afraid of the law but
rather to prove his innocence," Qadhar said.

Jabar surrendered to police in West Nusa Tenggara early this
year, two years after being declared a fugitive.

Presiding Judge Pramodana K. Kusumah adjourned the hearing
until Oct. 2 to hear the prosecution's closing arguments.