Applause, tears greet Bali trial verdict

Tears flowed and survivors applauded in an Indonesian court as a judge sentenced Muslim militant Amrozi to death for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

A group of survivors of the blast that tore through two nightclubs in October 2002 wept and embraced relatives in the courtroom after the sentence was read out.

"We are so relieved that finally one person got the death penalty and hope the rest do as soon as possible," said Natalie Juniardi, an Australian mother of two toddlers whose Indonesian husband was killed in the blast at the Sari club.

Clutching a picture of her husband throughout the court session, she said the verdict had given her a sense of release.

"I got out my anger in the end which has been building up for a long time," she said.

Others said they planned to celebrate.

"We are going to party a fair bit tonight here and have a few drinks," said Australian Geoff Phillips, father of survivor Brad Phillips, who said his son lost seven friends in the blast.

Australian Jake Ryan, 22, who lost half a foot in the bombing, fought back tears and struggled for words. "It's been a long day," he said.

"I wouldn't mind going out and getting blind (drunk), hitting the gas," he said.

Dubbed the smiling bomber, Amrozi giggled with delight when talking about the bombing, shocking and angering people around the world.

In Sydney, survivors and relatives of victims of the Bali bombings welcomed the guilty verdict, but there was mixed reaction to the sentence of death.

Australian Brian Deegan, who's son Josh was killed in Bali, welcomed the verdict but not the death sentence. "I believe it will make him a martyr," Deegan told Reuters.

"Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest)," the defiant 40-year-old mechanic from nearby Java island cried, punching the air with his fist as the chief judge read out the verdict.

He then turned to the gallery and gave them a broad smile and a thumbs up with both hands.

Listening to the court proceedings in his home village of Lamongan on Java island, Amrozi's family sat in subdued silence.

"It is so unfair... As Amrozi stayed in prison, bombs are still exploding in Jakarta," said his elder sister Tasmiah, referring to a bomb which tore through the JW Marriot Hotel in central Jakarta on Tuesday, killing 10 people.

"Everything has been orchestrated. I do not believe Amrozi is capable of making bombs that big."

Wearing a loose white Muslim shirt, a cream and green skull cap, Amrozi showed scant interest in the proceedings, fidgeting and then smiling occasionally at prosecutors.

During the trial Amrozi admitted involvement in the Bali blasts. He has also said he would welcome the death penalty, which is carried out by a firing squad of elite Indonesian special forces.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Bali bomb blast