Marriott bomber gets three years

Marriott bomber gets three years

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court sentenced on Wednesday Malikul
Zurkoni to three years in prison for storing the explosives used
in the Aug. 5, 2003, Marriott hotel bombing, which left 12 people
dead and 147 others injured.

The sentence was much more lenient than the 10 years being
sought by prosecutors against Malikul for storing the explosives
in his house for six months.

"The defendant has been found guilty in assisting in the
bombing. He was not actively involved in making the bomb, but his
offense should carry an equally stern punishment for assisting
and plotting (the attack)," prosecutor Sandi told the court.

The prosecutor later said that he would appeal the sentence.

Malikul's lawyer, Sutedjo from the Muslim Defense Team,
objected to the verdict, saying the judges' decision was based on
information from an unreliable witness.

"The verdict was based solely on testimony from Idris,
Malikul's preacher. It was not sufficient. If the prosecutor
appeals the sentence, we will also appeal," he was quoted as
saying by detik.com.

Malikul was found guilty of violating Article 15 of Government
Regulation in Lieu of Legislation No. 1/2002, as amended by Law
No. 13/2003 on terrorism. The law carries a maximum penalty of
death.

Malikul was the fourth person convicted by the South Jakarta
District Court in connection with the Marriott bombing. Muhammad
Rais received a seven-year sentence for helping the two main
suspects in the bombing, Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M. Top,
obtain, store and transport the explosives used in the attack.

Later on June 15, the court sentenced Slamet Widodo, alias
Pepeng, and Lutfi Fadilah, alias Zubair, to three years each for
failing to notify the authorities of the planned attack.

The first Marriott bombing defendant to be convicted was
Sardona Siliwangi, who was sentenced in February to 10 years in
prison by the Bengkulu District Court. He was found guilty of
storing the explosives that were later transported to Jakarta for
the bombing.