Samudra gets death sentence for masterminding Bali attacks
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.