Prosecutors seek death for embassy bomb suspect

Prosecutors seek death for embassy bomb suspect

Niniek Karmini, Associated Press/Jakarta

Prosecutors on Thursday demanded the death sentence for an
Islamic militant who allegedly helped plan the 2004 Australian
Embassy bombing in Jakarta that killed 11 people.

Iwan Darmawan, also known as Rois, is accused of buying a van
and fertilizers used in the attack, as well as a filing cabinet
that the explosives materials were packed into. The 30-year-old
clothes salesman also stands accused of hiding some of the key
suspects.

Authorities say Rois took his orders from Azahari bin Husin, a
Malaysian who allegedly leads the regional terror group Jamaah
Islamiyah whom police believe was the mastermind of the attack.
Azahari and another Malaysian wanted terrorist remain free
somewhere in Indonesia.

Rois, who attended a militant training camp in the Philippines
in the 1990s, acknowledged buying the materials but insisted he
did not know they would be used for the bombing.

"We've demanded that the defendant Rois be sentenced to
death," said Nendra, a state prosecutor, who goes by only one
name.

"The fact is that Rois is guilty of helping plan the attack as
well as hiding the key suspects," he said. "During the trial, he
never expressed regret about what he had done. His actions caused
the death of innocent people and threatened national stability."

The indictment said Rois had told police that Al-Qaeda leader
Osama bin Laden had funded the attack with Australian currency.

It quoted Rois as saying that a package containing some
A$10,000 Australian (US$7,500) in cash was delivered by a courier
to Azahari before the attack.

Rois, wearing a skull cap and traditional Islamic shirt,
appeared to be shocked and on the verge of tears as the sentence
request was read. He later told reporters that he was innocent.

"The allegations against me are untrue and based on something
I've never done," he said. "But this only a human trial. The real
trial is with God."

Two of the six Australian Embassy bombing suspects have
already been sentenced to between 3 1/2 years and 4 1/2 years on
charges relating to the Sept. 9, 2004 blast.

A fourth suspect, Heri Sigu, is on trial for allegedly helping
hide some of the key suspects. Prosecutors on Thursday demanded a
seven-year jail term for Sigu, who has denied involvement in the
bombing.

"The charges are not true," Sigu said. "All the evidence
presented in my defense has been useless. The trial has been
designed to find me guilty."

Police blamed the attack on Jamaah Islamiyah, which has also
been linked to the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people and
a 2003 blast at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott hotel that killed 12
people.

More than 20 people have been detained in connection with the
embassy bombing but a massive manhunt is still under way for the
Azahari and Noordin.