LAKSAMANA.Net, November 11, 2004 11:17 PM
4 Bali Bombers Get Sentence Reductions
Laksamana.Net - Four men convicted for their minor involvement in the October 2002
Bali nightclub bombings will each receive a one-month sentence remission on the
occasion of the post-Ramadhan holiday period of Idul Fitri.
"The remissions will be given on November 15," Bali Justice and Human Rights Office
spokesman Anak Agung Gede Mayun Mataram was quoted as saying Thursday
(11/11/04) by state news agency Antara.
He said the four are: Soleh Bin Bakir, who is serving a six year sentence; Samsul
Arifin alias Ilham Bin Abdul Muntholib (three years); Sofyan Hadi alias Bejo (six
years); and Firmansyah alias Edi Harun (four years).
They were arrested in East Kalimantan province in January 2003 and convicted of
harboring key bombers Ali Imron and Mubarok in the months after the attacks.
It will be the criminals' second remissions this year after they had their sentences cut
by two months on the occasion of Indonesia's August 17 Independence Day.
Mayun said the four men are among 225 prisoners in Bali who will be given
remissions to mark Idul Fitri, which this year starts on Sunday.
The Bali bombings killed 202 people and were blamed on regional terrorism network
Jemaah Islamiyah. More than 30 men have been convicted for involvement in the
attacks.
Remissions are routinely given to specially selected prisoners in reward for "good
behavior" on major religious holidays and Independence Day. They usually involve
sentence cuts of between 15 days and three months.
Celebrity Murderer
Judging by the lengthy remissions he has received, Indonesia's best behaved prisoner
appears to be former president Suharto's youngest son Hutomo ‘Tommy' Mandala
Putra.
Tommy is serving a 15-year sentence for murder, weapons possession and fleeing
justice, but that doesn't mean he will spend 15 years in jail.
On August 17, the former playboy had his sentence cut by a whopping seven months
and 10 days.
Add that to his prior remissions granted on previous Independence Days and Islamic
holidays since his conviction in September 2002 and Tommy's sentence has so far
been reduced to 11 years.
If he continues to receive such hefty reductions, he will be out of jail before 2010, after
serving about half of his sentence.
The millionaire businessman is serving time in a special private cell at Batu prison on
Nusakambangan island, off the southern coast of Central Java.
Prison guards were criticized earlier this year for allowing one of Tommy's sultry
girlfriends to spend several nights in his cell.
Tommy has been married to Ardhia ‘Tata' Pramesti Regita since 1997 and they have
two children. But observers say married life and even prison life have apparently not
stopped Tommy's notorious playboy lifestyle.
The Supreme Court in September 2000 sentenced Tommy to 18 months in jail for his
role in a land swindle that cost the state $11 million. He went into hiding in November
2000 and later ordered two of his henchmen to assassinate the judge who had
convicted him of corruption.
After making a mockery of police efforts to find him, he gave himself up in November
2001. Central Jakarta District Court in September 2002 convicted him of murder,
although he wasn't present for the reading of the verdict because he was feeling sick.
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