Prosecutors demand death for Ali Imron, Amrozi awaits verdict

Prosecutors demand death for Ali Imron, Amrozi awaits verdict

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The fourth suspect in the Bali bombings, Ali Imron, alias Alik,
began his trial on Monday with charges of involvement in the
planning and execution of the blasts.

Looking nervous, Imron listened to prosecutor I Gusti Putu
Sulaba demanding the death sentence for the defendant for his
alleged role in the attacks that claimed 202 people last October.

In their indictment, the prosecutors said that Imron was
involved in a series of meetings at his home village of
Tenggulun, Lamongan, East Java, as well as Surakarta, Central
Java. Those meetings, according to the prosecutors, preceded the
bombings in the popular tourist resort area of Kuta.

Imron was also charged with placing a bomb near the Consulate
of the United States in the opulent Renon housing and office
complex in the downtown area of Bali's capital, Denpasar, on the
night of the Oct. 12, 2002, attacks. Imron was also believed to
have driven the L-300 minivan that carried the most lethal bomb,
which exploded in front of Sari Club, to an intersection on Jl.
Legian, Kuta.

The prosecutors accused Imron of taking part in assembling
bombs using a variety of dangerous chemical substances in a
rented house on Jl. Pulau Menjangan, Denpasar, prior to the
terror attacks.

Unlike the other suspects on trial, Imron, the younger brother
of fellow defendants Amrozi and Ali Gufron, alias Mukhlas, had a
neat appearance during the hearing at the Nari Graha building. He
appeared in a formal and fashionable brown suit, complete with
ironed blue shirt and floral red tie. Imron also wore shiny,
black shoes.

Other defendants often appeared wearing traditional koko
(Muslim shirts) and slippers at hearings.

In a bizarre move, Imron's defense team said they would not
present any defense argument for their client.

Head of the lawyers Suyanto said he had discussed the matter
with the defendant and decided not to present a rebuttal
statement "to save time."

According to the lawyer, if they (the lawyers) did not respond
to the charges the trial could immediately move to hearing
witness testimonies.

When asked from where Imron had acquired the suit, Suyanto
said the lawyers had not given it to him.

Imron was apologetic for his involvement in the Bali bombings.
Shortly after the police arrested him and the other 29 directly
and indirectly involved in the bombing, Imron called a news
conference expressing his deep regret at what he and his brothers
had caused to the victims and their families.

Muhammad Salim, spokesman for the Bali Prosecutor's Office,
said that it was prosecutors who had provided Imron's formal
clothes.

"We don't have any hidden intention in giving him that outfit.
We also offered the same to Amrozi. We could offer them to anyone
(the suspects)," Salim explained.

He said it was the right of Imron's lawyers not to present a
defense argument. "They probably realize that the judges will
likely reject their defense statements," Salim speculated.

Presiding judge Mulyani adjourned the trial to Wednesday next
week to hear witness testimonies.

In the second trial, Amrozi, who faces the death sentence,
decided not to take up the opportunity to present his rebuttal.
He told the court he had made such an important decision after
performing an Istiqarah prayer (to ask for divine guidance).

"I'm really afraid that if I were to give a statement in my
defense, hypocritical and fasik (misguided) people, as well as
the prosecutors, would happily claim that I was scared of death,"
Amrozi told the trial, presided over by judge I Made Karna Parna.

Meanwhile, Amrozi's lawyer Ahmad Wirawan Adnan confirmed that
the team of prosecutors was unable to utilize any of its legal
arguments.

"We are very convinced that the defendant was not the planner
of the bombing. All the charges are difficult to prove," Wirawan
told the court.

The lawyer, however, conceded that the defendant was involved
in procuring and transporting the explosive materials and
providing the L-300 minivan, but prosecutors could not prove that
the car belonged to his client.

The trial will resume on Aug. 7, when the judges will issue
their verdict.