Bali bombing trial begins

BALI, Indonesia - A 33-year-old computer expert went on trial for his life today, accused of masterminding the deadly Bali bomb attacks that prosecutors say were part of a plan to wage war on the United States.

Prosecutors have charged Imam Samudra with plotting, organising and carrying out premeditated crimes of terror and causing mass casualties in the bombings last October 12. Before the trial he had denied none of the charges and, if convicted, faces a maximum penalty of death.

Wearing a white Muslim cap and shirt, Samudra greeted the panel of judges in Arabic and then abruptly shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) at his lawyers and waved at them.

Prosecutor I Nyoman Dila read the 43-page indictment as Samudra sat in a swivel chair at the centre of the makeshift court in the local capital, Denpasar.

Dila said Samudra chaired several planning meetings leading up to the nightclub attacks on Indonesia's main resort island. More than 200 people were killed, including three New Zealanders.

"The defendant said there would be a big project to wage war against the United States and in the meeting several bombing targets in Bali were plotted," Dila said, reading from the indictment.

The trial was later adjourned until Thursday.

Many officials have blamed the attacks -- the worst since the September 11, 2001 suicide attacks on US cities -- on the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiah but the indictment makes no mention of the network.

Lawyers for Samudra, who have said their client confessed to coming up with the idea for the attack, told the court they objected to new anti-terror laws being used retroactively in the case.

"We also protest the involvement of foreign police in the investigation against the defendant," lawyer Qadhar Faisal said.

Around 150 people attended the trial opening, most of them journalists. A handful of survivors and relatives of victims sat at the back of the cavernous court room.

Speaking to reporters after the adjournment, Randall Lee, a 30-year-old Australian who lost two brothers and a pregnant sister-in-law in the blasts, said he felt angry when he saw Samudra enter the court.

"He is so arrogant, a fundamentalist, a lunatic," said Lee, who was in Bali on the night of the blasts. "People like him should be thrown away, shot in the back of the head."

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has won widespread praise for its thorough, transparent and swift handling of the Bali investigation that has led to the arrest of more than 30 Islamic militants.

The trials will be a further test of Indonesian justice, with international pressure for tough verdicts while some domestic human rights groups fear possible bias against the defendants and a failure to hunt for further culprits.

Only one other suspect, Amrozi -- a 40-year-old mechanic accused of buying explosive materials and a minivan that later became a massive bomb -- has gone on trial over the attacks. His trial was due to resume in the same courtroom later on Monday.

Like other Bali accused, Amrozi and Samudra were students of radical Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiah who is currently on trial for treason.

Police have linked Bashir, 64, to the Bali attacks but have not named him a suspect in that case.

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Bali bomb blast