Court sentences second man to death for Bali bombings

6.15pm

BALI - Imam Samudra, the convicted brains behind the Bali bombings, is a 33-year-old Muslim computer expert with a hatred of the West who dreamed of dying for his radical beliefs.

A court sought to grant him that wish today on the Indonesian resort island where last year two bombs tore through crowded nightclubs killing 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

The five-judge panel ordered his execution by firing squad.

Lawyers for Samudra will appeal the verdict, one member of the defence team said.

Asked if they would appeal, lawyer Achmad Michdan said: "Yes. The way they proved the case was far from perfect. They concentrated too much on the victims, the impact of the bombing and not the role of the defendant, which is a much more complicated thing to prove."

Caught by police just over a month after the October 12 blasts, he used every opportunity in court to play to the gallery.

Known for shouting anti-American slogans, he repeatedly said death held no fear and taunted his victims and their families.

Shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), Samudra defiantly entered the dock. Wearing a white Muslim shirt, dark trousers and a black cap, he shouted the phrase four times and punched his fist in the air before sitting down.

His lawyers say that, when asked about the death penalty during questioning last year, Samudra replied: "I'll embrace it."

Judge Isa Sudewi told the court today the prosecution had proven Samudra, an engineering graduate, played a key role in the bombings.

"The defendant worked behind the scenes as the coordinator so the panel of judges has an opinion that the defendant is the intellectual actor behind the bomb explosions," she said.

The second key suspect to be sentenced to death over the blasts, Samudra was charged with plotting, organising and carrying out premeditated terror crimes causing mass casualties.

Police and lawyers said he had admitted being the brains behind the Bali attack. Investigators say he learned to make bombs in Afghanistan.

The Bali bombings were the worst act of terror since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Officials have accused Southeast Asia's shadowy Jemaah Islamiah (JI) group, linked to al Qaeda, of being behind the Bali attack.

JI has also been linked to the August 5 blast at the luxury US-run Jakarta J.W. Marriott Hotel which killed 12 people and wounded 150 others.

Police say it is largely because of Samudra they have been able to piece together what happened in Bali and learn about JI.

The one-time chicken butcher and perfume seller now faces death by firing squad, although it could be several years before that sentence is carried out.

Like other accused Bali bombers, Samudra was a student of Abu Bakar Bashir, the alleged spiritual leader of JI sentenced to four years in jail for treason by a court last week.

Prosecutors had demanded a 15-year term for Bashir, but the court said they failed to prove he was the head of JI. That verdict angered many foreign officials who saw the trial as a litmus test of Jakarta's resolve to crack down on militant Islam.

Prior to Bali, Samudra, married with three children, was on Indonesia's most-wanted list for several Christmas Eve bombings in 2000. He employed various methods to dodge the law, including changing identity.

Born Abdul Aziz, investigators say he has gone by various aliases: Fatih, Fat, Kudama, Abu Umar and Hendri and Faiz Yunshar. Despite various professions, the indictment describes him as a textile trader.

Tracked down through an email he had just sent, police caught up with Samudra in the port of Merak, in western Java, on November 21.

He was on a bus about to board a ferry for Sumatra island and did not resist arrest.

- REUTERS

Main players in the Bali bombings

Herald Feature: Bali bomb blast