The Jakarta Post, 9/2/2004 3:30:54 PM
Victim's father expresses outrage over Bali bomber's Starbucks
sighting
SYDNEY, Australia (AP): The father of an Australian killed in the 2002 Bali bombings
expressed outrage on Thursday after a militant jailed for life for his role in the atrocity
was seen sipping coffee with a senior Indonesian police officer at an upmarket
shopping mall.
A police spokesman in Indonesia said Brig. Gen. Gorries Mere broke no laws by
taking convicted terrorist Ali Imron from prison and buying him coffee at a Starbucks
in Plaza Indonesia, one of the country's most luxurious shopping centers.
Spokesman Maj. Gen. Paiman said Mere wanted to talk to Imron in connection with
"the development of several terror cases in Indonesia." Paiman, who goes by a single
name, did not elaborate.
"It's extraordinary," Brian Deegan told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
"There are many occasions in Australia where the police might see the need to
continue some dialogue with political terrorists, or those suspected of terrorism, but
one wonders why there is this necessity for them to be doing it in a restaurant such
as Starbucks as opposed to the jail cafeteria."
Deegan's son Josh, 22, was among 89 Australians killed in the Bali bombings.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters he had confirmed with Jakarta that
Imron had not been released from prison.
"We've made absolutely sure he's not going to be released. Different things are done
in different countries in different ways, but we certainly don't want him to be released,"
Downer said.
Imron was sentenced to life in prison last September for his role in the Bali bombings,
which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists. Mere took part in the investigation
into the nightclub attacks.
Unlike other militants sentenced in the case, Imron cooperated with investigators after
his arrest and repeatedly expressed remorse over the loss of life. (**)
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