3000 police on guard as Bali blast suspect faces court

Today the man who became the smiling face of Islamic militancy will be driven in a bullet-proof car through the closed-off streets of Denpasar to face justice for the Bali bombings.

In front of the world's media just weeks after the bombings, the fresh-faced Amrozi caused outrage when he told police of his delight at hearing about the worst terror act since the September 11, 2001, strikes on the United States.

Today, 3000 police, three companies of soldiers and 400 civil security staff will guard the courtroom where Amrozi, the first suspect for the Bali blasts last October 12 which killed around 200 people, faces trial.

Proceedings will take place on an elevated stage, with Amrozi seated on a black leather barbershop-style chair bolted to the floor, facing a panel of five judges.

When not facing his judges he will be held in his "waiting room", a white, enamelled metal cage roughly 2m square and walled in at the back of the court.

The island has only one judge; the rest are being imported from elsewhere in Indonesia.

Today the prosecutor will begin reading through a 40-page indictment against Amrozi, who is accused of buying the mini-van and parking it with 1000kg of explosives packed in the back outside the jammed Sari Club in the Bali resort of Kuta Beach.

The case will be gripping, not least because of the insights it will give into the workings of Jemaah Islamiyah, the regional Islamic terrorist network that provided the infrastructure and funds for the Bali operation.

Despite scores of arrests Jemaah Islamiyah, which has known links with al Qaeda, remains a serious threat to Westerners in Southeast Asia.

"They still have the capability and intention to deliver in terms of terrorist acts," warned Tim Morris, Australia's director of counter-terrorism.

For the relatives of the three New Zealanders killed in the bombing, as well as the scores injured, the trial is more personal.

Judy Wellington, whose son Jamie was killed, said Amrozi deserved to go to jail.

"Whoever was involved, I would very much like them to suffer."

In a chilling insight into the minds of the alleged perpetrators, police said Amrozi even went sightseeing on Bali in the days leading up to the blasts.

He had never been to Bali before.

"Some people look very nice but are actually very cruel," said Major-General Made Mangku Pastika, in charge of the police investigation, not long after Amrozi was caught.

The 40-year-old mechanic from Tenggulun village in East Java province was vital to helping police crack the Bali case.

The police claim he bought the minivan used as a huge car-bomb in the blasts and much of the explosive material.

They have blamed Jemaah Islamiyah for the attacks but have not identified Amrozi as a Jemaah Islamiyah member, although they allege one of his brothers was the network's operational chief.

Like other accused Bali bombers, Amrozi came under the sway of the teachings of Abu Bakar Bashir, alleged head of Jemaah Islamiyah, whom he first heard speak in the mid-1980s in Malaysia.

Police have linked Bashir to the Bali blasts but have not named him as a suspect. The cleric has denied any wrongdoing.

Police say Amrozi worked in Malaysia from the mid-1980s, where he listened to sermons by Bashir, who had fled Indonesia to avoid authoritarian rule.

It was there that Amrozi found the desire to oppose those he believed oppressed Muslims, police say.

Police have arrested his older brother, Ali Gufron, or Mukhlas, who they say is Jemaah Islamiyah's operational head, and another brother, Ali Imron.

Although he faces possible execution, Amrozi does not seem to take his plight very seriously.

During his public interrogation on November 13, police chief General Da'i Bachtiar said Amrozi expressed admiration that police were able to make a sketch of him after being given a description when he had earlier bought a motorbike.

"He laughed at that, saying we were smart," Bachtiar said.

While locals are eager to see justice done, the trial will do little to ease their economic plight.

Before the bomb blasts, nearly 5000 tourists arrived on Bali daily. Last month, with the war in Iraq and the Sars epidemic exacerbating Bali's woes, the figure dropped to 1800.

Poverty levels have risen dramatically and many hotel and restaurant staff have returned to their villages to eke out a living growing rice or coffee.

Businesses have failed and beach traders jostle pathetically for a few thousand rupiah (60c) from the straggle of foreigners.

The locals hope that Amrozi is convicted and sentenced to death.

"I hope they kill him, because he killed so many Balinese people and people from outside," said one.

"Before the bomb, Bali was 100 per cent good, but he came here and hurt so many people. I think the whole world was crying after the bomb.

"Everyone in Bali would like to slice him up with a knife. They want to carve a memorial to the dead people on his face and body."

- INDEPENDENT, REUTERS, KATHERINE HOBY

Herald Feature: Bali bomb blast