Terrorist who blew off his own leg sentenced to death
Yogita Tahilramani The Jakarta Post Jakarta
A Malaysian terrorist who blew off his own leg and wounded five others in a botched bomb attack on a bus load of Christians in Jakarta last year, has been sentenced to death by the Central Jakarta District Court.
Presiding Judge Panusunan Harahap said that Taufik bin Abdullah Halim, alias Dani, had entered Indonesia illegally to threaten Jakarta's stability by engaging in an act of terror to cause public disorder and spark religious unrest.
"The defendant was a guest in our country. Being a guest, he engaged in an act of terror that could have initiated religious unrest," Panusunan said on Tuesday.
He said the defendant had been legally proven guilty of violating Paragraph 1, Article 1 of the Emergency Law No. 12/1951, in possessing and using ammunition or explosives.
Court spokesman Judge Andi Samsan Nganro said on Tuesday that the primary factor that judges took into consideration was the fact that the defendant had intended to launch widespread religious unrest with the bombing.
"That was ... intolerable. Jakarta already has its share of tragic bombings which have claimed so many lives. Bombings, particularly those executed with such malicious intent, should not be tolerated," Andi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday evening.
Dani's right leg was partially blown off when the bomb he was carrying exploded prematurely. His leg had to be amputated.
Dani, through his lawyer Duni Rubayati, immediately appealed the sentence. Prosecutor Andi Walinga had asked for a 20-year jail term.
Duni later said that Dani had provided "a lot of information" about other bombings in Jakarta and deserved a lighter sentence than the sentence passed.
The lawyer also said that the court could not prove that Dani had masterminded the bombing, making the death sentence unwarranted.
Eddy Setiyono alias Abbas alias Usman, another defendant in the same case, is being tried separately and a verdict is due next week. Two other suspects are still on the run.
On Aug. 1 last year, Dani brought a bomb wrapped in a plastic bag, and stood near a column in the west lobby of the Atrium Plaza, Central Jakarta, awaiting a signal from four friends including Abbas. But, before the bomb was planted, it exploded and injured six people at the scene, including Dani.
The bomb was intended for a bus load of Christians holding a religious gathering at the Aston hotel adjacent to the plaza.
Based on Dani's testimony, police tracked down the other suspects, including Abbas who was arrested on Sept. 12 last year in Tasikmalaya, West Java.
Following Abbas' arrest, police arrested 12 other suspects undergoing military-style training in Pandeglang, West Java. All of the suspects belonged to the Jihad squad of a Mujahidin group based in Malaysia, police said. The group, in turn, was believed to be linked to regional terrorist organization Jamaah Islamiyah.
Police said Abbas had admitted that he was involved in the bombings of several churches in the capital around Christmas in 2000, which claimed 19 lives.
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines sealed a trilateral security pact on Tuesday in an attempt to bolster cooperation to combat terrorism and cross-border crime.