Two terrorist accomplices sentenced in Bali

Two terrorist accomplices sentenced in Bali

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

The district court in Bali has jailed two defendants for their
roles in aiding and abetting those involved in the Oct. 12, 2002,
Bali bombings.

Andri Octavia got 16 years in jail for his involvement in a
jewelry shop robbery in Serang, Banten, on Aug. 22, 2002, the
proceeds from which were used to help finance the bombings, while
Makmuri received seven years for harboring a key Bali bomb
suspect in the Central Java town of Klaten after the deadly
attacks.

"The defendant (Octavia) has been found guilty of
collaborating with others to provide funds for a terrorist attack
and of robbing a jewelry shop, for which he is sentenced to 16
years imprisonment," Judge Gede Damendra said during Monday's
court session here.

Oktavia's lawyers immediately filed an appeal against the
sentence, which was two years lighter than that demanded by the
prosecution.

The court has already sentenced two persons to 15 years'
imprisonment each and one person to 16 years' imprisonment for
their involvement in the robbery.

The raiders got away with 2.5 kilograms of gold jewelry and Rp
5 million (US$588) in cash. The proceeds were passed to Imam
Samudra, who along with Amrozi was sentenced to death last week
for masterminding the terror attacks.

In a separate trial in the same building, Judge Ida Bagus
Jagra said Makmuri was guilty of harboring Ali Ghufron alias
Mukhlas, Amrozi and Ali Imron in Klaten after the attack.

Prosecutors are seeking 20 years in jail for Ali Imron, who
has confessed his role in the bombings, which killed 202 people,
mostly Australians, and injured more than 320 others.

During his trial on Monday, Ali Imron urged those involved in
the Bali bombings who were still at large not to launch any
further terror attacks that would tarnish the image of Islam
worldwide.

"I call on my friends who are still at large to stop their
violent actions immediately because what they have done in the
past are terror acts," Imron, who was dressed in a dark suit and
blue shirt, told the court in his defense plea.

He denied that the terrorist network Jamaah Islamiyah was
behind the terror attacks, saying the series of bombings had
nothing to do with Islam or the adherents of Islam.

He also said he had misunderstood the meaning of jihad.

"A true jihad should have a clear target. There should be
warnings given. No women should be killed in jihad. And, the holy
war should be staged in acceptable ways. All these principles
were ignored in our jihad," he admitted.

He said the bombings were really retaliatory actions aimed at
the United States, which he claimed had mistreated the Muslim
people.

Imron, who has admitted helping assemble the van bomb that
tore apart a nightclub and caused most of the deaths, also
apologized for his role in attacking the wrong targets.

"I am guilty and I can only seek forgiveness from my family,
my friends, the families of the victims and the victims
themselves," he told the court.

He said all he could do now was "to ask for the acceptance of
the prosecution's recommendation by the victims, the families of
the victims and society."

According to Imron, the 20-year sentence sought by the
prosecution was the most lenient that could be expected for a
crime that had caused "such extraordinary losses."

Imron's lawyer Suyono urged the judges to consider his
client's honest regret in mitigation.