Indonesia's Supreme Court has rejected final appeals from all three Islamic militants on death row for the 2002 Bali bombings, meaning they face execution by firing squad.A request by one of the bombers, Amrozi, for a case review - the final legal avenue for appeal under Indonesian law - was rejected earlier this month. Now his two accomplices have also had their requests rejected, Supreme Court spokesman Nurhadi told the online Detikcom news agency. "Their appeals have all been rejected," he said, referring as well to Imam Samudra and Ali Gufron.
The horrific 2002 Bali bombings killed 202 people, mostly foreign holidaymakers, and dragged the south-east Asian region into the so-called global "war on terror".
The attacks were blamed on the regional extremist network Jemaah Islamiyah, which was then linked to Al Qaeda. The three bombers had been appealing on the grounds of a constitutional court ruling that anti-terrorism laws used to convict them introduced after the bombings could not be applied retroactively. None of the trio has expressed remorse over the attacks. A lawyer for the men said earlier this month that they were ready to die after signing a last statement reportedly vowing their deaths would lead to "hell for infidels."
"If we are executed, then the jets and drops of our blood will, God willing, become a ray of light for Muslims and become hell for infidels and hypocrites," reported the Koran Tempo, which obtained the statement.
Besides the three death sentences, Indonesian courts have issued two life sentences and more than 30 other long jail terms for people involved in the Bali attacks or for helping hide the key players when they went on the run.