Bali bomber plans to appeal death sentence

By PHIL REEVES

The man accused of coordinating the Bali nightclub bombings was sentenced to death by an Indonesian court yesterday, becoming the third man to be condemned to face a firing squad.

Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron, at once declared he would appeal against the verdict, which came only a few days before the first anniversary of the attack in which 202 people were killed.

The court concluded that Mukhlas had been "proven legally and convincingly guilty of collectively plotting crimes of terrorism".

As the death sentence was read out, he leapt from his chair, arm raised and shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) before being escorted away, his lightly-bearded features flooded with a grin.

Prosecutors alleged that Mukhlas, 43, chaired preparatory meetings for the bombings, channelled funds to finance the attack, and approved the target - the bars and nightclubs of Bali's Kuta, the playground for foreign tourists.

He admitted involvement but denied a direct role, saying that - as a teacher of Islam - he only gave the bombers religious guidance, and was not on Bali on the night of the attacks.

Police and intelligence agents had identified him as one of the top leaders of Jamaah Islamiya, a south-east Asian militant group whom the region's intelligence services believed to be linked with al Qaida.

He denied this - although he did admit meeting Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in 1987, when the mujahadeen was engaged in a CIA-funded war to end the Soviet occupation.

Mukhlas remained defiant throughout. To the fury of survivors and families of victims - who watched yesterday's events closely - he refused to cooperate with investigators after his arrest in December.

When he arrived in court under armed guard yesterday, a lean skull-capped young man in a long collarless shirt, he smiled at reporters.

He now joins on death row his younger brother, Amrozi, who was convicted in August of providing the van and bombs used in the attacks. A second Indonesian, Imam Samudra - the so-called "field commander" of the bombings - was also sentenced to death last month.

A third brother, Ali Imron - who says he made the main bomb - chose to co-operate with the police, expressed public remorse and urged his family and relatives not to imitate him. Last month he was rewarded with a life sentence, which he is now pressing to have reduced.

So far, 17 people of the more than 30 charged have been convicted for playing a part in the bombings - some receiving long prison sentences.

Yesterday's decision means that the men considered by the Indonesian authorities to be the four big players in the Bali atrocity have been dealt with by the courts before the first anniversary on 12 October.

The timing was viewed as an important factor by at least one courtroom spectator, Jan Laczynski from Australia, which lost 88 people in the attack and is now preparing for the grim commemoration of the worse bombing attack on its civilians in its history.

"In many ways this is the most important fortnight for Australia because we will get a sense of closure," he said, "The four key players are out of the way now and we look forward to the (memorial) ceremonies on October 12."

When the defendant was brought into court earlier, Mr Laczynski whispered to him in Indonesian - "Death for you today, Mukhlas."

Australia does not have capital punishment, but its government has already made clear that it does not intend to protest over the sentence.

The verdict "again sends a strong signal to terrorists the world over that the international community will not sit back and allow them to strike with impunity", said a spokesman for the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer.

Mukhlas was arrested in central Java in December near the home of Abu Bakar Baasyir, the radical Islamic cleric who last month was sentenced to four years in jail for subversion, but acquitted of being Jamaah Islamiya's spiritual leader.

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Herald Feature: Bali bomb blast