LAKSAMANA.Net, April 13, 2005 10:57 PM
Two Jailed over Marriott Hotel Bombing
Laksamana.Net - Two militants, one from Indonesia and the other from Malaysia, have
been jailed for assisting the perpetrators of the August 2003 suicide car bombing that
killed 12 people at Jakarta's JW Marriott Hotel.
South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday (13/4/05) sentenced Indonesian cleric
Sunarto bin Kartadiharja alias Adung (56) to seven years for providing assistance to
the bombmakers and possession of a firearm and ammunition. Prosecutors had
recommended a sentence of 10 years.
"The defendant is proven to have intentionally given assistance to terror criminals by
concealing information of their whereabouts," presiding judge Efran Basuning was
quoted as saying by Reuters.
"The defendant knew that Noordin M. Top was a fugitive... but he did not report to the
police," he added.
Malaysians Noordin Mohammad Top and Azahari Husin are wanted for involvement in
Marriott blast, as well as the October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202
people and the September 2004 blast that killed 11 people outside the Australian
Embassy in Jakarta.
All three attacks have been blamed on regional terrorism network Jemaah Islamiyah,
although Indonesia is yet to ban the organization for fear of upsetting hardline
Muslims.
Sunarto was found guilty of withholding information on the whereabouts of Noordin.
The judge said the defendant had met Noordin in Blitar, East Java province, in
December 2003 and arranged for him to move to a safe house in West Java province,
where he stayed for two months.
Detikcom online news portal reported that Sunarto had lived with Noordin at the
latter's Lukmanul Hakim Islamic Boarding School prior to the Bali bombings. He was
arrested last year in Solo, Central Java.
In a separate trial session at the same court, Malaysian national Sabturani alias
Ruslan bin Abdul Hamid (37) was sentenced to four years for failing to provide police
with information on the whereabouts of Noordin, Azahari, Sunarto and other militants.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of six years.
Presiding judge Ketut Manika said Sabturani was spared the heavier sentence
because he had acknowledged his wrongdoing and expressed regret.
Sabturani was arrested last year in Sukoharjo, Central Java, and later sentenced to
eight months in jail for immigration violations.
Sunarto's lawyer Mustofa Tohir said his client was yet to decide whether to appeal his
sentence.
Sabturani's lawyer Rita said her client would not appeal his sentence.
A third suspect, Indonesian national Rahmat Uji Prabowo alias Bejo, is still on trial for
allegedly assisting Noordin and Azahari. Prosecutors have recommended he be jailed
for five years.
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