Witnesses say bombing planned by defendants

Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Two witnesses testified on Wednesday that key Bali bombing defendants met at a house in the Central Java town of Sukoharjo around two months before the Oct. 12, 2002, deadly Bali blasts.

Hernianto, who is also facing terror charges for his alleged involvement in the bombings, told the Denpasar District Court that Amrozi and seven other people held the meeting in August to prepare for the attack.

The deadly blasts killed 202 people, mainly young foreign tourists, and wounded about 320 others.

Amrozi, the first of more than 30 suspects to be brought to court, is accused of attending several sessions used to plan the bombings, buying a ton of explosive materials and the van used in the main blast, and transporting them to Bali. He faces execution if convicted.

Hernianto identified a Toyota Crown as the vehicle in which Amrozi arrived for the meeting, accompanied by two other men, his younger brother Mukhlas and Dulmatin, who is still at large.

Hernianto testified that his father-in-law, Zulkarnaen, who owned the house, was also present along with alleged mastermind Imam Samudra and Ali Imron -- another brother of Mukhlas -- as well as three other men.

He said he did not know what was discussed during the meeting because he was in another room of the house.

"I'm not the type of person who wants to know other people's business. I am not accustomed to be suspicious about fellow Muslims whom I know well."

He said the August meeting followed a smaller gathering at the house about a month earlier but only Zulkarnaen, Dulmatin and Samudra attended.

Amrozi's other younger brother, Ali Imron, who was also accused of playing an important role in the bombing, gave a similar testimony but said the meeting was not linked to the terrorist organization Jamaah Islamiyah (JI).

He testified that during the meeting, which was chaired by Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron, each attendant was given a specific task in making preparations for the bombings.

Amrozi, also known as Nurhasyim, refuted Ali Imron's testimony, saying the meeting had no relation to the Bali bombing.

"There were no discussions on the bombing during the meeting. In fact, we were talking about how to get a police permit to organize a rally to counter the planned gathering of 700 Christian and Jewish figures in the nearby city of Surakarta," Amrozi said.

Responding to Amrozi's denial, Imron calmly said: "Amrozi has his right to say so."