Suspected bomber of RP envoy's home goes on trial
Suspected bomber of RP envoy's home goes on trial
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The trial of Abdul Jabar, the main suspect in the bombing of the
Philippines ambassador's residence and two churches in Jakarta in
2000, opened at the Central Jakarta District Court on Monday.
The trial is one of a number of trials throughout Indonesia
involving Muslim terror group Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), including
the devastating Bali bombings on Oct. 12, 2002.
Prosecutor Suharto accused the defendant, who turned himself
in last January, of having planted a car bomb at the residence in
Central Jakarta on Aug. 1, 2000. The blast killed security guard
Sofyan Hendrawan, housemaid Suhantin, and injured 21 others,
including ambassador Leonides T. Caday.
"The bombing was in revenge for the death of fellow Muslims in
the Philippines," the prosecutor alleged as he read the
indictment.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has waged a war for
independence in the southern Philippines for 25 years. A military
offensive in 2000 led to the destruction of its headquarters at
Camp Abubakar on Mindanao island.
Suharto said the attack was jointly carried out with Fathur
Rahman al-Ghozi, who is serving a 12-year jail term in the
Philippines for possession of explosives; Amrozi, who is a prime
suspect in the Bali bombings; Edi Setiono; and Asep, alias
Darwin.
Al-Ghozi, in a written depositions to Philippine police this
month, admitted setting off the residence bomb along with other
JI members led by Hambali. Hambali, believed as the mastermind of
the Bali attack, was JI's operations chief and is still at large.
Jabar, 35, is the son of the late Ahmad Kandai who was
involved in an assassination attempt on founding president
Sukarno who was visiting the Cikini Institute in Central Jakarta
on Nov. 30, 1957. The attempt, using a grenade, failed.
Jabar is also accused of bombing the Koinonia Church in East
Jakarta and the Anglican church in Central Jakarta on Dec. 24,
2000. Four people were killed in the attacks.
A wave of coordinated bomb attacks on churches in different
cities across the country that Christmas Eve killed 19 people and
injured 120 others.
Jabar is charged with illegal possession of explosives
according to the Emergency Law No. 12, 1951, which carries the
death penalty.
Two of the Christmas bombers in Jakarta, Dedy Setiono alias
Abas, and Dani, a Malaysian citizen, have received death
sentences, while other suspects, including Rusli, alias Dicky,
are still at large.
Presiding Judge Pramudana Kusumah adjourned the hearing to
hear the defense on June 30.
Jabar eluded police for two years until last January when he
surrendered to police in West Nusa Tenggara.
The Investigation report said Jabar worked with younger
brother Salahudin along with friends Darwin and Musa. The trio
are still at large.
Jabar's two other brothers, Farihin and Mohammad Islam, are
being held for alleged involvement in bombings in Poso, Central
Sulawesi.