The Jakarta Post, 7/21/2005 6:34:33 PM
First suspect in embassy bombing sentenced to three and a half
years in prison
JAKARTA (Agencies): The first suspect to face charges in the 2004 bombing of the
Australian Embassy in Jakarta was sentenced to three and a half years in prison
Thursday for assisting the attack's perpetrators, but was cleared of more serious
charges of planning the blast.
Supporters of Irun Hidayat shouted "God is Great" when judges read out their verdict
in the South Jakarta District Court.
"The defendant is legally and convincingly guilty of violating anti-terror laws by helping
others commit acts of terrorism," the court said in its verdict.
The five-judge panel said the most serious charge against Hidayat - helping plan the
September 2004 attack that killed 10 people and wounded more than 200 - could not
be proven. If found guilty of that, he could have faced the death penalty.
The 38-year-old Islamic preacher said he "rejected" the verdict.
Earlier he told reporters that "with global politics the way they are now, it is difficult for
people like me who have been dubbed as terrorists" to get a fair trial.
The blast was blamed on regional terror group JamaahIslamiyah, which allegedly has
cells in several Southeast Asian countries. The group was also blamed for the 2002
Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, and a 2003 blast at
Jakarta's J.W. Marriott hotel that killed 12.
Police are preparing charges against five other people arrested in the embassy blast.
(dpa/ap/**)
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