Trial linked to embassy blast begins
Trial linked to embassy blast begins
Agencies, Jakarta
The first of six alleged militants accused in last year's suicide bombing outside the Australian Embassy here went on trial on Wednesday, with prosecutors saying the group carried out the attack to punish Canberra for its support of the U.S.-led war on Iraq.
Irun Hidayat was charged under tough antiterror laws with persuading the suicide bomber to carry out the Sept. 9 bombing in Jakarta. If found guilty, he could face the death penalty.
Prosecutor Hidayat told the South Jakarta District Court that Irun indoctrinated and gave religious motivation to suicide bomber Heri Gulun in an isolated village in West Java three months before the blast.
The militants had carried out the bombing because "the Australian government is one of America's allies and has been very keen in supporting America's policy ... in Iraq", Hidayat said.
"Apart from that, Australia is deemed to be meddling too much in the domestic affairs of countries with predominantly Muslim populations such as Indonesia and Saudi Arabia," the prosecutor said.
The truck bomb outside the heavily fortified mission killed 11 people, including Heri Gulun, and injured more than 200 others. The attack was blamed on the al-Qaeda linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI) terror group.
Another prosecutor Sodikin said evidence showed Irun had delivered Heri's will to his wife on the day of the bombing.
Irun, who attended the trial wearing a white skullcap, appeared calm and said he was innocent.
"I have no knowledge of the bombing at the Australian Embassy," he told the court when asked if he understood the charges leveled against him.
The defendant did not have a lawyer and the court appointed one for him on Wednesday. The lawyer, Tua Pasaribu, said he was yet to prepare a response to the charges.
The trial was adjourned until March 23, when lawyers will make their opening remarks.
The new proceedings come just weeks after hard-line cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir received a sentence of 30 months' imprisonment for involvement in the October 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people -- a sentence condemned by Australia and the United States as too lenient.
Ba'asyir's trial was seen as a key test for the government of new President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has won backing from Washington and Canberra for pledges to tackle militants from JI.
The terror group, which allegedly has cells in several Southeast Asian countries, has also been blamed for a 2003 blast at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott hotel that killed 12.
Police are preparing charges against five other people arrested in the embassy blast.
More than 20 people have so far been detained in connection with the embassy bombing, which has seen thousands of police deployed across the country amid fears of further attacks on western targets.
Two other militants -- Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Moh. Top -- are still wanted in the attack. The pair, who are alleged to be key JI leaders, are also wanted in the Bali and Marriott attacks.