USA Today, 8/16/2006 4:08 AM ET
Indonesia to free militant jailed for 2002 bombings
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -An Islamic militant convicted in the 2002 Bali bombings
will be released from prison Thursday and 10 other minor figures in the plot are likely
to have their sentences reduced to mark Indonesia's independence day, prison and
justice ministry officials said.
It is an Indonesian tradition to cut jail terms on holidays, but the decision is expected
to anger countries that lost citizens in the twin Bali nightclub attacks that killed 202
people, many of them foreign tourists.
Three militants serving time on Borneo island are slated to receive reductions of four
months, paving the way for one, Puryanto, to walk free, said Edi, a prison official who
uses a single name.
Eight others in the main prison on Bali island are expected to receive sentence
reductions of one to six months, said Anak Agung Mayun Mataram, a justice ministry
official.
A total of 33 people were jailed over the 2002 Bali blasts -the most deadly in a string
of attacks in Indonesia blamed on the al-Qaeda-linked militant group Jemaah
Islamiyah.
Those who will benefit from Thursday's remissions played relatively minor roles in the
suicide bombings -from carrying out robberies to finance the attacks to helping shelter
the main suspects.
Three militants -Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra- are scheduled to be executed
later this month and three others are serving life sentences.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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