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| Southeast Asia |
| Bali bombers should be executed: Islamic leader |
| 2002-11-27 |
| Indonesia's highest authority on Islam says the leaders of the Bali bomb attack should receive the 'heaviest sentence possible' if they are found guilty. Maybe there is hope for Indonesia. Din Syamsuddin, secretary-general of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (Muslim scholars), says the bombers must be punished for taking others' lives. "We are asking for the bombing perpetrators to be given heaviest possible punishment because they have taken the lives of other human beings unlawfully," he said. Under a special decree passed following the Bali bombing and made retroactive to cover Bali, terrorism is punishable by death. Mr Syamsuddin says the council appreciated police efforts to arrest those suspected of the October 12 bombing, which killed more than 190 people. He says police should also uncover possible involvement of foreigners in the attack. Police have arrested two key suspects in the bombing - alleged mastermind Imam Samudra and 40-year-old mechanic Amrozi. Both have confessed to roles in the attack, and both could face the death penalty. Some Muslim leaders have criticised the manner in which police searched Islamic boarding schools in their search for suspects, with Vice President Hamzah Haz comparing the raids to methods used against gambling and prostitution dens. But President Megawati Sukarnoputri has said moderate Muslims should not feel worried about the investigation of some organisations that use Islamic symbols. She describes small but radical Muslim groups as "irritants." It seems like Jemaah Islamiah overplayed its hand and is going to be slapped down. |
| Posted by:Steve |