Paras Indonesia, July, 26 2006 @ 10:47 pm
Execution Date Set For Bali Bombers
By: Roy Tupai
Three militants on death row for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings are to be executed
on August 22 if their families and lawyers decide not to make a final appeal against
their sentences.
Amrozi (43), Ali Ghufron alias Mukhlas (46) and Imam Samudra (38) are to be shot by
firing squad for their key roles in October 12, 2002, bombings that killed 202 people,
mostly foreign tourists. The Supreme Court last year rejected their appeals. They can
still request a presidential pardon or a final judicial review of their cases.
Amrozi and Samudra have refused to request a presidential pardon, saying they do
not want to surrender to human law. They and Mukhlas have said they want to be
judged only by God's law.
Nugroho Priyo Susetyo of the Lamongan Prosecution Office in East Java said
Tuesday (25/7/06) he had sent letters to the families of Amrozi and Mukhlas, as well
as to their lawyers, informing them of the execution date and their right to seek a final
review.
"In the letter, received by an elder brother of the convicts, a date for the execution has
been set for August 22, if the family waives its right to use their last avenue of appeal,
in this case a demand for a case review," he was quoted as saying by Agence
France-Presse.
He could not confirm whether a similar letter was sent to Samudra's family as it fell
outside his jurisdiction.
Officials have said the executions will be carried out on Nusakambangan island jail, off
the southern coast of Central Java.
Amrozi's lawyer, Wirawan Adnan, said the defense team plans to request a case
review but is still looking for strong fresh evidence.
Fellow lawyer Mahendradatta said new evidence to be submitted as the basis of the
appeal would be Law No.15/2003 on Counter-Terrorism, which was applied during the
trials of his clients, even though the Constitutional Court subsequently ruled the law
cannot be applied retroactively.
Mahendradatta criticized the Attorney General's Office for setting an execution date,
saying it appears authorities are eager to have his clients killed.
He said the lawyers have requested the final review not take place in Bali, where
hostility toward the bombers remains high, especially following the second Bali
bombings in October 2005 that killed 23 people.
"We have first made a request for another place for the review of the cases of my
clients to spare the feelings of the Balinese community. We filed the request a week
ago and an answer is still awaited," he was quoted as saying by state news agency
Antara.
Mahendradatta is the head of the Muslim Lawyers Team (TPM) — the group of
lawyers representing the Bali bombing suspects, radical cleric Abu Bakar Baasyir and
other militants.
A few days after the second Bali bombings, hundreds of Balinese protested nearby
Kerobokan prison to demand the immediate execution of Amrozi, Mukhlas and
Samudra. A larger protest was planned for the October 12 anniversary of the first
bombings, so police promptly transferred the three inmates to Nusakambangan.
Balinese went ahead with the second protest at Kerobokan to demand the return and
immediate execution of the trio.
Mahendradatta complained the timetable for the execution of Amrozi and Mukhlas is
shorter than that for three Christian men on death row for their role in religious conflict
in Poso, Central Sulawesi.
Fabianus Tibo, Dominggus Da Silva and Marinus Riwu were sentenced to death in
April 2001, convicted of responsibility for a series of murders of Muslims in Poso
between May and June 2000.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last year rejected their appeals for clemency
and the Attorney General's Office has said they will be executed soon, although a
date is yet to be set. The three have admitted guilt but claim they were only pawns in
the hands of more powerful figures behind the Poso violence. Their most recent
request for a case review was rejected by the Supreme Court in May 2006.
Amrozi, Mukhlas and Samudra were all sentenced to death between August and
October 2003.
Mahendradatta said it was unfair that they were facing execution before the
Christians. He also said the defense team's lack of action was an effort to avoid
upsetting the Balinese. "TPM has long been refraining from taking any legal action on
behalf of Amrozi and Ali Ghufron, which may trigger the anger of the community.
Therefore we wonder if there is some motive behind all this."
The lawyer said he would not make a final appeal until his request for a new venue is
answered by the Supreme Court via Denpasar District Court. He said the Supreme
Court has often moved hearings for security reasons, including cases involving unrest
in Poso and Papua, which were heard at Central Jakarta District Court.
He said the legal team cannot request the executions be delayed. "Under the
prevailing laws, there is no such thing as a request for a stay of execution. This is not
only a matter of saving Amrozi, but a correction of the implementation of the law
imposed on Amrozi."
No Executions in Bali
Denpasar Prosecutor's Office on Wednesday said the execution of the bombers would
not be carried out in Bali despite strong calls from locals that the three end their lives
on the island.
"The executions will be carried out on one of the islands at Nusakambangan,"
Denpasar Prosecutor's Office head Made Suratmaja was quoted as saying by
detikcom online news portal.
He said Nusakambangan was chosen as the venue because of financial and security
considerations. "This request has been agreed to by Law and Human Rights Minister
Hamid Awaluddin."
Technically speaking, the execution order was issued in a document numbered
2621/P.I.10/EKS/O7/2006. The executions can be postponed only if the convicts
submit a request for an H-1 judicial review.
Attorney General's Office spokesman I Wayan Pasek Suartha said the executions
would be delayed if the families and lawyers decide to make a last-minute final
appeal. "Even if on August 21 they submit a judicial review, we will certainly postpone
the executions," he said.
"We are still waiting for a good attitude from their families or lawyers. They have not
yet used extraordinary legal efforts," he added.
Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh said "we will carry out the executions if they
do not submit a judicial review".
Police Ready
National Police chief General Sutanto has said his subordinates will prepare a firing
squad to carry out the executions. "There is no problem. Amrozi and the others are
being held in Nusakambangan, so from the security aspect there is no problem. The
Central Java Police will be providing the firing squad to carry out the executions," he
said.
He played down concerns that executing the trio could prompt other terrorists to
stage revenge attacks. "There are no indications of this. We hope terrorism will not
happen again… because if being challenged their militancy will increase. In the mass
media, we must make a plea so that they realize this. But in the field we will continue
to act firmly."
Defendant Weeps
Dwi 'Wiwid' Widiyarto (34), who is on trial for his role in the second Bali bombings,
last week broke down and cried when visited by members of his family.
He is accused of assisting fugitive terrorist mastermind Noordin Mohammad Top.
Police said he sheltered Noordin, recorded a video of him threatening further attacks
against Western targets and took part in preparatory meetings for the bombings.
Wiwid has admitted he knew that Noordin was going to carry out the bombings but
claimed he did not know when the attacks would take place. He admitted deliberately
withholding the bombing plans and Noordin's whereabouts from police, and
transferring the recording of Noordin to a computer disc.
He was visited at Denpasar District Court on July 18 by his pregnant wife Naning, their
4-month-old child Izzulhaq, his father Pramono and brother Puji Rahayu.
After embracing his wife, whose face was covered by a black veil, he kissed his child
and began crying. He then shook hands with his father and brother, and the brief visit
was over.
"I hope my husband will be released soon. I'm sure my husband is not guilty. He was
not in the group of Noordin M. Top," said Naning.
Naning, Pramono and Rahayu had earlier testified during Wiwid's trial. Rahayu told
the court that Wiwid borrowed his computer to transfer the recording of Noordin to a
disc.
South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday sentenced Imam Buchori (36) to three
years and six months in jail for harboring Noordin and providing him with a motorbike
between 2004 and 2005.
Copyright (c) 2005 - PT Laksamana Global International. All rights reserved
|
