Sept. 19
INDONESIA:
Indonesian militants appeal Australian embassy bombing death sentences
2 Indonesian Islamic militants sentenced to death for bombing the
Australian embassy in 2004 have filed appeals today, their lawyer said.
Achmad Michdan registered the appeals at the South Jakarta district court
which issued the verdicts last week against Achmad Hasan and Iwan Darmawan
Mutho alias Rois.
Judges ruled there was enough evidence to convict Rois because he told
police Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had funded the September 2004 van
bombing which killed 12 Indonesians, including the suicide bomber.
The judges found Rois played key roles including recruiting the suicide
bomber and preparing safehouses for two fugitive Malaysians, Noordin
Mohammad Top and Azahari Husin.
Hasan was also accused of assisting Azahari and Noordin.
(source: AFX)
ISRAEL:
Death penalty better for killers
The state of Israel has over 5,000 Arabs in prison. Many are killers of
Israeli citizens. These killers were sentenced to life terms.
Yet many are often set free. These men who killed so many Israelis should
have been executed by firing squads or hanging, but the foolish and
incompetent leaders and the members of the Knesset are against the death
penalty. Yet their "friend," the USA, has a state, Texas, that kills
(executes) more prisoners than any other state in the country.
I do not think that the death penalty would prevent the suicide bombings,
but the killers would never kill again. Why clothe and feed these men for
their lifetime? Why spend the money maintaining them? The prime ministers
have been taking orders from the White House for many years. Why doesn't
Israel do what the U.S. does with the permission from the Supreme Court
and Congress.
The terrible condition of the state of Israel today is mainly because the
prime minister believes the White House is looking out for their welfare.
He doesn't know that as prime minister it is his job to look out for the
safety of his people. The White House is only interested in protecting the
United States of America, not Israel. And Israel should be doing the same
for Israel.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of
Israelis because he has not ordered his generals to demolish all the
terror groups in Gaza and the West Bank and the Hezbollah in Lebanon. The
state of Israel has the most powerful military force in the entire Middle
East.
Then there is the nuclear card.
I believe that the world would honor and respect Israel, and the Jewish
world would not only respect and be proud of the state of Israel, but also
tourism would explode and it would bring peace. Shalom.
Samuel Blair, Boca Raton (source: Letter to the Editor, Sun-Sentinel)
