The Hindu : 'A crime against humanity'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 08, 2003

International

International

'A crime against humanity'

By P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE Aug. 7. A death sentence was today pronounced in the first of several cases relating to the terrorist bombings of two night clubs in the Indonesian island of Bali on October 12 last year. The Bali carnage, which claimed the lives of 202 persons including many foreigners, was the worst outrage after the serial terrorist strikes in the U.S. on September 11, 2001.

The Denpasar district court in Bali on Thursday found Amrozi bin Nurhasyim guilty, under Indonesia's new anti-terrorism laws, and awarded him the capital punishment for what was characterised as "a crime against humanity'' and "a crime of murder''. Amrozi, whom the media had dubbed the "smiling bomber'', was given a week to appeal against the verdict, and his lawyer later indicated that the option would be exercised.

The judgment was generally welcomed across the Asia-Pacific region, even as several countries began tightening security measures to guard against possible reprisals by Jemaah Islamiyah, a suspected affiliate of the Al-Qaeda in South East Asia.

The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, welcomed the verdict, noting that 88 of his compatriots were among the blast fatalities. Canberra would not ask Jakarta not to carry out the death penalty, he said.

Interpreting Indonesia's anti-terror laws, which were enacted after the Bali tragedy, the presiding judge, Made Karna, noted that Amrozi's culpability of buying the explosives for the terrorist attack was proven beyond doubt. As the sentence was read out, in televised proceedings, Amrozi was seen grinning defiantly and gesticulating vigorously to indicate a sense of triumph. He had said in the past that he would not flinch at death penalty, but it was said on his behalf today that the proposed appeal against this verdict was necessitated by his relatively limited role of supplying a van and the chemicals for the car-bomb. Those still under trial in related cases include two of Amrozi's brothers.

Made Pastika, who led the Bali investigations, said six persons wanted in this connection were still at large.

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