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.