Samudra gets death sentence for masterminding Bali attacks

Wahyoe Boediwardhana The Jakarta Post Denpasar, Bali

Judges of Denpasar District Court sentenced Abdul Azis alias Imam Samudra to death on Wednesday after declaring him guilty of planning, conspiring and organizing the Bali bombings that killed at least 202 people and injured over 300 others.

"We, hereby, punish the defendant Imam Samudra alias Abdul Aziz with the death penalty," presiding judge I Wayan Sugawa declared.

Samudra responded to the verdict by raising his right index finger high in the air and shouting "Allahu Akbar (God is Great) three times. He repeatedly stroked his beard during the trial.

Samudra is the second defendant in the Bali bombing to receive the death sentence after earlier the same court handed down the death sentence to Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, who was responsible for the logistics of the bombing operation.

After examining at least 48 witnesses, the judges found Samudra guilty of planning, conspiring and organizing the Bali bombings.

He was also found guilty of raising funds for terrorist activities. This charge related to the robbery committed by Samudra's lieutenants at the Elita jewelry store in Serang, West Java on August 2002. The robbers gave the loot -- amounting to 2.5 kilograms of gold jewelry and Rp 5 million in cash -- to Samudra.

The judges also held Samudra responsible for a string of church bombings in Batam on Christmas Eve 2000. In addition, the judges found Samudra guilty of the illegal possession of explosive materials and firearms.

Since the defendant had not shown remorse nor admitted guilt over the bombings, the judges stated that they did not find any mitigating elements on the defendant's behalf.

Samudra was very calm and relaxed during the reading of the verdict. Only when Judge Ifa Sudewi quoted a verse from the Bible did Samudra respond. He instantly stuck his index fingers into his ears, refusing to hear the verse.

Samudra's chief lawyer Qadhar Faisal claimed that the verdict was unfair and that an appeal would be submitted to the High Court. According to Qadhar, Samudra could not accept the verdict.

"Samudra said that it was haram for him to accept the verdict since it was based on laws devised by the rulers of this country. He would have accepted the verdict if it had been based on Islamic law," Qadhar said.

As he was escorted to an armored prison vehicle, Samudra once again expressed his hatred toward Australians and non-muslim people.

"Go to hell infidels, go to hell Australia. Die Australia, Allahu Akbar," he yelled.

The moment he was about to step into the vehicle, Samudra shouted the names of Ariel Sharon, George W Bush and Tony Blair while making the menacing gesture of slicing his throat with his index finger.

Samudra was arrested at the Merak-Bakauheni ferry port when he was about to flee to Sumatra on November 5 2002. His trial commenced on June 2, 2003.

Major events since the Bali bombings

This is a chronology of major events in the Bali bombing case up until Samudra's sentencing:

2002 Oct. 12 -- Shortly after 11:00 pm a suicide bomber detonates an explosives-laden vest inside Paddy's pub. Almost simultaneously a massive car bomb explodes across the street outside the busy Sari Club, killing 202 people from 21 countries, including 88 Australians.

Oct. 14 -- Defense Minister Matori Abdul Djalil says the attack "is related to al-Qaeda."

Oct. 19 -- Emergency decrees signed by President Megawati Soekarnoputri allow for the death penalty in cases of terrorism.

Nov. 5 -- Police arrest their first suspect, Amrozi.

Nov. 8 -- I Made Mangku Pastika, who led the police investigation, says Amrozi has confessed to wanting revenge for what he called America's oppression of Muslims.

Nov. 19 -- Police Chief General Da'i Bachtiar says Imam Samudra, who masterminded the bombings, is Jamaah Islamiyah's operations chief in Indonesia.

Nov. 21 -- Samudra is arrested at a West Java port where he was about to cross to Sumatra.

Dec. 4 -- Amrozi's elder brother, Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas, is arrested in Central Java and later charged with having overall responsibility for the bombings.

2003 Jan. 14 -- Ali Imron, Amrozi's younger brother and one of the bombmakers, is arrested on a remote island in Kalimantan.

Aug. 7 -- Amrozi is sentenced to death.

Sept. 10 -- Samudra found guilty of masterminding Bali bombings, sentenced to death.