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10 years jail for Jakarta Marriott bomber
An Indonesian court on Tuesday sentenced a Muslim militant to 10 years in jail for helping plan last year's J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing, but acquitted him of involvement in the 2002 Bali attacks. The court ruled that Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, could not be prosecuted over the Bali case, in which 202 people died, because of a ruling last month by the country's Constitutional Court prohibiting the retroactive application of the anti-terror law used to charge him. 'In light of the Constitutional Court decision to declare invalid the retroactive use of the anti-terror law, we reject the second charge,' said Judge Asnawi who read out the verdict. Judge Asnawi, sentenced Hendrawan to 10 years imprisonment for helping plan the August 2003 attack on the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, which killed 12 people. Idris said he would decide later whether to appeal.In earlier court sessions, Idris admitted taking part in both attacks, which he said were aimed at America and 'its henchmen who oppress Islam.' Prosecutors had demanded he serve 10 years. Idris was charged under an anti-terror law rushing through parliament after the Bali attacks. Last month, the Constitutional Court ruled that the law could not could not be used for crimes committed before its enactment. Lawyers for the 32 militants already sentenced in the Bali attacks have said they would appeal the verdicts based on that ruling. But Indonesia's justice minister insists that the decision does not affect convictions already handed down - a stance many legal experts have questioned. The Marriott blast occurred after the anti-terror law was passed. At least 10 people have already been convicted in the Marriott attack and sentenced from three to 10 years in jail. Posted by: tipper 2004-08-24 |
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