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| Southeast Asia |
| Man jailed over Marriott bombing |
| 2004-05-18 |
| A second Muslim militant has been sentenced in Indonesia over the bombing of Jakarta’s Marriott hotel last August, which killed 12 people. Mohammed Rais was found guilty of transporting chemicals used in the attack and jailed for seven years. Rais, who had denied knowing what the explosives were for, was cleared of being a main player in the bombing. It’s a safe bet they weren’t for mining operations. He was impassive as the verdict was read out and later said he would consider whether to appeal. Judge Yohannes Binti told the South Jakarta district court that Rais had been "proven to have legally and convincingly provided assistance for a crime of terrorism". Prosecutors had sought a 10-year jail sentence for Rais. Rais had admitted to transporting explosives from Sumatra to Jakarta after a request from his brother-in-law, fugitive Malaysian terrorism suspect Noordin Mohammad Top. But he denied knowing what the chemicals would be used for. The court ruled there was no evidence to support the accusation that he introduced Asmar Latin Sani, who carried out the bombing, to Mr Noordin and Azahari Husin in January 2003. At previous court appearances Rais apologised to victims of the bombing, and wept when he saw harrowing images of the bomb’s impact. Time to pay the piper. He also called on Jemaah Islamiah - the group suspected of being behind the bombing and other attacks in the region, including the 2002 Bali nightclub blast - to renounce violence. Sardona Siliwangi became the first person to be convicted of the Marriott attack in February, when he received a 10-year prison sentence for having stored explosives used in the blast. The main suspects in the case - Mr Noordin and fellow Malaysian Dr Azahari - are still at large. Dr Azahari is accused of masterminding the Marriott hotel attack, and Mr Noordin of helping to build the bomb. Dr Azahari allegedly helped build one of the bombs used in the Bali nightclub bombings in 2002, which killed 202 people, while Mr Noordin is suspected of helping to finance the attack. Ya just gotta keep hoping that one of these b@stards will eventually finger Bashir. It would be sweet justice to see that maggot’s claims of non-involvement shown for the lies they probably are. |
| Posted by:Zenster |