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.