Samudra's trial set for June 2

Samudra's trial set for June 2

DENPASAR, Bali: The man police believe masterminded last year's Bali bomb blasts will go on trial on June 2, the second key suspect to face trial over the attacks that killed 202 people.

Police have charged Imam Samudra, who is in his mid-thirties, with plotting, organizing and carrying out terror crimes causing mass casualties. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

"The trial of Imam Samudra will start on June 2, it will be held at the Nari Graha building in Denpasar (Bali)," Judge I Made Karna told Reuters.

Samudra was captured by police in the western Java province of Banten on Nov. 21 and is also a suspect in several church bombings across the country in 2000 on Christmas Eve.

Karna said those bombings were included in the indictment.

The trial of another suspect named Amrozi, dubbed the laughing bomber by the media for his behavior during the pretrial investigation, is due to resume on Monday after the court dismissed defense calls to throw out the case.

Lawyers for Amrozi argued the indictment did not specify the time and place of the alleged crime and prosecutors had not described any event that qualified Amrozi as a planner.

Many officials have blamed the October bombings -- the worst terror attack since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States -- on Jamaah Islamiyah, a militant Muslim group Indonesian officials say has ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network.

Indonesian police have arrested more than 30 people over the bombings. --Reuters