http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/i-plotted-to-kill-sby-admits-jakarta-hotel-bombing-suspect/357965
February 10, 2010 Heru Andriyanto Alleged militant Amir Abdillah in a cell at South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal) I Plotted to Kill SBY, Admits Jakarta Hotel Bombing Suspect The first suspect to be tried in connection with the 2009 twin hotel bombings in Jakarta appeared in court on Wednesday, with Amir Abdillah sensationally admitting outside the courthouse that he had also plotted to kill the president. An Islamic militant and suspected driver for slain terrorist leader Noordin M Top, Amir, 34, faces multiple death sentences if convicted on charges that he drove the car carrying a field coordinator named Saefudin on the morning of the July 17 attacks; sheltered Noordin and other terrorists linked to the bombings, for which he provided explosive materials; and plotted to kill President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The two suicide bombers died along with seven hotel guests and staff members, while more than 50 were injured in the blasts, which marked the bloody end of a four-year halt in attacks attributed to Noordin and Jemaah Islamiyah, the Al Qaeda-linked regional terror network. Noordin, who was killed by police last September, was blamed for a 2003 attack on the JW Marriott Hotel, the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and 2005 attacks on tourist restaurants on Bali, which killed almost 50 people in total. JI also carried out the 2002 Bali bombings that left 202 dead. After the hearing, Amir told journalists outside the South Jakarta District Court that he had helped plot an attack on the president's motorcade to avenge the November 2008 executions of three Bali bombers. No attack, however, was carried out. "Yes, SBY was the target," Amir told reporters. Asked if he had any regrets, he replied: "Yes," but added: "If I am punished, that would be wrong. Only Allah knows." Wednesday's hearing was to hear the prosecutors' indictment, in which they claimed Amir drove Saefudin in a van near the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott hotels, which were hit by individual bombers around 7:45 a.m. on July 17. Saefudin was on a cellphone "instructing and encouraging" suicide bomber Dani Dwi Permana to carry out the attack on the Ritz-Carlton, prosecutors said. Amir was the first suspect to be arrested, one month after the hotel blasts. His later tips to police led to the arrests of several other suspects and two deadly raids in Central Java that killed four suspects, including a florist at the JW Marriott who aided the attacks. The indictment said Amir was assigned to survey the daily route of the presidential motorcade from Cikeas, Yudhoyono's private residence near Bogor, to the State Palace. In June 2009, Amir also assisted Noordin and his group in finding a boarding house near Cikeas and provided explosives for the planned attack, prosecutor Chairul Fauzi said. He said Amir and another conspirator picked up "cake ingredients," code for explosive materials, in Sukabumi, West Java, and took sacks of chemicals to the rented house. The materials were to be used to build a car bomb for "the second attack" about a month after the hotel bombings. Prosecutors said the plan was to crash a bomb-laden car into the motorcade. "President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was targeted in the second attack because he had given his blessing to and was responsible for the executions of the Bali bombers," the indictment said. The trial will resume on Wednesday for Amir's preliminary defense hearing. It is not known how he will plead. Related articles Who Pays for the Victims of Terror? 9:59 PM 06/11/2009 Police Seek 2nd Man Suspected of Funding Jakarta Hotel Bombings 10:25 PM 25/08/2009 Muhammad Jibril's Father to Challenge Indonesian Terror Law 11:27 PM 08/02/2010 Alleged Noordin Lieutenant Faces Trial 8:28 PM 07/02/2010 Two More Killed In Indonesian Antiterror Raids 12:50 AM 10/10/2009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
