Repentant Bali bomber gets life sentence ( 2003-09-18 16:38) (Agencies)
An Indonesian court sentenced remorseful Bali bomber Ali Imron to life in
jail on Thursday for helping to organize and carry out the deadly Bali bombings
last year that killed 202 people.
The sentence was tougher than the 20-year term sought by prosecutors after
Imron expressed sorrow during his trial that his actions had killed innocent
people and urged family and supporters not to imitate him.
"The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of plotting
with others crimes of terror. We are therefore sentencing the defendant to life
in jail," said presiding judge Mulyani.
In its sentencing the court referred to an article of Indonesian law
requiring that any person convicted on those charges be sentenced to death, or a
minimum of life in jail.
In cases concluded earlier, judges had sent two key suspects to death row on
charges similar to those against Imron, but they had shown neither his remorse
nor his cooperative attitude.
Judges accepted the prosecution's case that Imron had helped make the bombs,
helped deliver a bomb-laden car to the targeted nightclubs and planted another
bomb near the U.S. consulate general in Denpasar.
"The defendant, with Arnasan and Iqbal, rode a Mitsubishi L-300 minivan which
had a bomb in it. The driver of the car was the defendant," one of the five
judges said earlier.
"When the car reached the Kuta intersection he got out and Arnasan took over
the car and parked it in front of the Sari Club."
The Bali blasts last October 12 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists
partying at Sari Club and Paddy's Bar at the famed Kuta beachstrip which were
frequented by Westerners.
Arnasan died in the Sari Club blast while Iqbal, who was wearing a vest
filled with explosives, died in Paddy's.
Another key Bali bombing suspect on trial, Mukhlas, will hear his fate on
October 2.
Prosecutors have asked for death for Mukhlas, Imron's older brother, who
police say is a senior leader of the Jemaah Islamiah Muslim group.
Police and prosecutors have said the Bali attacks were the work of Jemaah
Islamiah, an al Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian militant network accused of
plotting violence across the region.
