Prosecutors seek 10 years for House building bombers

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta

Prosecutors sought on Wednesday a sentence of 10 years jail for two Acehnese men on trial at the Central Jakarta District Court for bombing the House of Representatives compound here in July last year.

The two defendants -- Aditiawarman alias Adi bin Warman and Fadli Hasan alias Ifat bin Hasan -- are accused of bombing the Nusantara IV building located in the House complex in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

No one was hurt in the blast, which caused minor damage to the outside of the building. The two men were arrested by the police a month later.

Prosecutor Erry Satriana told a panel of judges headed by Judge Putu Widnya that evidence collected by police was sufficient to charge Aditiawarman with violating Article 6 of Law No. 15/2003 on terrorism and article 55 of the Criminal Code, as one of the perpetrators of the bombing.

Erry said Adiatiawarman had also violated Article 1 of Law No. 12/1951 on the state of emergency, for illegally possessing firearms and explosives.

The bomb had created fear and instability in the country and had caused damage to a symbol of democracy, he said.

"Therefore, we ask a sentence of 10 years jail, inclusive of the defendant's detention period," he told the court. "We also request the defendant remains under state detention."

The maximum sentence for acts of terrorism according to the new law is the death penalty.

Erry, however, asked the judges to take into consideration the absence of casualties in the blast. Adiatiawarman had been cooperative since his arrest and had shown remorse for his acts, Erry said. This was his first offense.

In a separate trial presided over by Judge Mulyani, Erry put forth the same charges against Fadli and requested the court give him the same sentence.

Erry said Fadli was acting on behalf of the Free Aceh Movement -- the bomb being a protest against the implementation of martial law in the province.

The government, with approval from the House, declared martial law in the province in May last year and extended it another six months, in spite of public concern about human rights abuses by the Military.

Both trials were adjourned until May 19 to allow the defendants to prepare their legal responses.