Paras Indonesia, 09, 13 2005 @ 06:16 pm
Militant Gets Death for Embassy Bombing
Posted by: Roy Tupai
An Islamic militant has been sentenced to death for helping to organize and carry out
last year's suicide bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.
South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday (13/9/05) found Rois, also known as Iwan
Dharmawan and many other aliases, guilty of terrorism and hiding the perpetrators of
the attack.
The bomb blast on September 9, 2004, killed 11 Indonesians, including the suicide
bomber, Heri Gulon.
As soon as the verdict was handed down, Rois (30) stood up, punched his fist in the
air and chanted "Allahu Akbar [God is Great]". He later told reporters he was innocent
but said he welcomed the death sentence because it would enable him to die a
martyr. "I am grateful to God for being sentenced to death because I will die a martyr.
Why should I be frightened?" he was quoted as saying by detikcom online news
portal.
"When one Muslim dies, other Muslims will take revenge," he was quoted as saying
by Reuters.
Rois said the judgment was "stupid" and claimed his trial had been engineered by
followers of the devil. "I reject the verdict because it was based on punishment from
Satan and not from God. I will accept punishment from God," he said.
"Everything has been engineered since I was first arrested. I reject the charge of that I
am a bomber because this is all part of a play," he added.
Prosecutors had accused Rois of working with the incriminated masterminds of the
attack, Malaysians Azahari Husin and Noordin Mohammad Top, who are both still at
large and also wanted for involvement in a series of other terror attacks.
The prosecution had recommended the death penalty for Rois, accusing him of buying
the delivery van and other materials used in the bombing and recruiting Heri Gulon,
who drove the vehicle to the embassy's gate.
The panel of judges concurred, saying there were no mitigating factors to show the
defendant any leniency, whereas he had given conflicting statements during the trial
and not shown any remorse for his actions.
The judges further said the prosecution proved that Rois had: attended meetings at
which the "evil conspiracy" to attack the embassy was hatched; obtained and helped
to refine chemicals for the bomb; rented a house used by the bombers; surveyed the
target; given shelter to known perpetrators of terror attacks; and recruited the suicide
bomber.
"We declare the defendant Iwan Dharmawan Mutho, alias Rois alias Fajar alias Abdul
Fatah alias Darma alias Yadi alias Muhammad Taufik alias Ridho alias Hendi, to be
proven legitimately and convincingly guilty of carrying out cumulative acts from
participating in a terror crime to intentionally hiding the suspects of terror crimes,"
said presiding judge Roki Panjaitan.
Rois' lawyer Ahmad Michdan, a member of the Muslim Defense Team (Tim Pembela
Muslim – TPM) that provides legal assistance suspected terrorists, claimed the
charges against his client were "not in accordance with the facts" and were based
solely on his police interrogation records, which had been influenced by foreign
pressure.
"This case is rife with foreign influences and foreign propaganda," he was quoted as
saying by detikcom.
Rois had claimed he was unaware the materials he had bought were later used to
make a one-ton bomb. He has one week to decide whether to appeal his sentence.
Four Convicted, Masterminds Still Free
South Jakarta District Court had earlier given three other men jail sentences ranging
from 42 months to 7 years for their roles in the attack. Two other men are still on trial
for alleged involvement in the bombing, while recently arrested suspects are expected
to be brought to trial soon.
The embassy blast has been blamed on regional terror network Jemaah Islamiyah,
which has also been accused of responsibility for several other attacks, including the
October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people and the August 2003
blast that killed 12 people at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel.
Rois is fourth person to receive the death sentence under anti-terror laws enacted
following the Bali bombings. Three of the Bali bombers are also on death row, while 30
others have received sentences ranging from three years to life.
Police claim they are serious about tracking down and apprehending fugitives Azahari
and Noordin, but critics say police seem more interested in continuing to line their
own pockets through corruption and extortion.
After his arrest in November 2004, Rois embarrassed police by revealing that Azahari
had allegedly escaped arrest after the embassy bombing by bribing a traffic
policeman. He said Azahari had been stopped by police three times and let go each
time after paying bribes.
The chairman of Indonesia's counter-terrorism board at Coordinating Ministry for
Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Ansyaad Mbai, has said police face an almost
impossible task in finding Azahari and Noordin because they could be hiding on any
one of the country's more than 13,000 small islands.
Copyright (c) 2005 - PT Laksamana Global International. All rights reserved
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