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| Southeast Asia |
| Militant Sentenced in Indonesia Bombing |
| 2005-09-08 |
| An Indonesian militant received a seven-year prison sentence Thursday for his role in plotting last year's suicide bombing at the Australian Embassy, blamed on a regional terror group linked to al-Qaida. Abdul Fatah, alias Heri Segu, shouted 'Allahu akbar' or 'God is great' when the three-judge panel in South Jakarta District court handed down the sentence, the heaviest punishment yet in the attack. Judges said he helped build the bomb. 'He has never expressed any regret for his actions,' said presiding judge Asnawati, who like many Indonesians uses only one name. His sentencing came on the eve of first anniversary of the Sept. 9, 2004, attack at the heavily fortified mission in central Jakarta, which killed nine victims. Police blamed Jemaah Islamiyah, also suspected in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly tourists, and a 2003 blast at Jakarta's J.W. Marriott hotel that killed 12. Fatah is one of six Muslim militants arrested as suspects in the embassy bombing. Two others were sentenced in July to 3 1/2 years and 4 1/2 years; prosecutors have asked for the death sentence for two of the others. Several other suspects remain at large. Fatah was arrested in November in west Java province, around 124 miles east of Jakarta. Police said he was carrying explosives and a book of bomb-making instructions. Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has arrested about 100 suspected terrorists and their sympathizers since the Oct. 12 Bali bombings. Two have been sentenced to death and at least 30 others have been given prison terms ranging from two years to life. |
| Posted by:Steve |