Samudra to face trial in Batam for Xmas blasts

Samudra to face trial in Batam for Xmas blasts

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam, Riau

Imam Samudra, the alleged mastermind of the devastating Bali
bombing in October, will be tried on the industrial island of
Batam in Riau province on charges of bomb attacks on churches
there two years ago, the police said on Wednesday.

Barelang Police chief Sr. Comr. Suhartono said Samudra would
go on trial in Batam District Court for his alleged key role in
attacks on three churches on Christmas Eve in 2000.

Suhartono could not say when the suspect, currently being held
at Bali Police Headquarters, would be flown to Batam to face
trial. Nor did he mention the date of the trial.

"Imam Samudra ... will be tried in Batam District Court. Batam
was the bombing site, so it has the right to try him," he told
The Jakarta Post.

Suhartono said local authorities were currently compiling a
dossier on Samudra.

The Barelang Police chief said other suspects, including Iqbal
who is being detained in the Riau capital of Riau, will likely be
tried before Samudra.

At least 13 people were injured when bombs exploded in 2000 at
the Bethany Church, the Simalungun Protestant Church and the
Indonesia Pentecostal church, all in Batam.

Batam District Court spokesman Edy Nasution said his office
had not been officially notified by police investigators that
Samudra would be tried there.

However, he said the Batam court was prepared to try the
suspect. "Because the blasts occurred in Batam, the case should
be tried here," he added.

Edy said that should the authorities decide to try Samudra in
Batam, the court would ask for extra security assistance from
Barelang Police to prevent disturbances during the hearings.

Samudra, 35, was captured on Nov. 21 at the Merak ferry port
in Banten province on his way to Sumatra.

He has confessed to masterminding the Oct. 12 Bali bombing
that killed over 190 people and injured some 300 others, mostly
foreigners. He also confessed to having been involved in the 2000
bomb attacks in Batam and Jakarta.

Police investigating the Bali blasts have decided that
Samudra's trial on the resort island will begin in February.

Samudra was flown to the Bali capital of Denpasar from Jakarta
on Dec. 6 for further questioning in connection with his role in
the Bali blasts.