Witnesses say bombing planned by defendants

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."