http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/02/201221335321846839.html
Bali bomb suspect goes on trial in Indonesia
Umar Patek faces multiple charges, including premeditated murder, for deadly
attacks that killed more than 200 people.
Last Modified: 13 Feb 2012 11:17
inShare6
Patek, centre, had a $1m bounty on his head, and stands trial after a
nine-year flight from authorities [Reuters]
The main suspect in the 2002 Bali bombings, Umar Patek, has gone on trial in an
Indonesian court where he faces multiple charges, including premeditated
murder, for the deadly attacks.
"Umar Patek's trial is declared open," Judge Lexsy Mamonto said on Monday,
before prosecutor Widodo Supriady began reading the charges to the court in the
Indonesian capital, Jakarta.
"Defendant Umar Patek committed an evil conspiracy with others to commit a
crime by bringing in, obtaining, providing or owning firearms, ammunition or
explosive materials and other dangerous materials to carry out terrorism,"
Supriady read.
According to a copy of the indictment obtained by the AFP news agency, Patek
will be charged with premeditated murder and assembling bombs for the October
2002 Bali nightclub attacks, and strikes on churches in Jakarta on Christmas
Eve of 2000.
The Bali nightclub attacks killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
The trial at the West Jakarta district court is expected to last more than four
months as prosecutors present evidence from 86 witnesses. Prosecutors say they
will push for the death sentence.
'Demolition Man'
The 45-year-old Patek, whose real name is Hisyam Bin Alizein and who has
several aliases, had a $1m bounty on his head under the US rewards for justice
programme.
Patek, known as "Demolition Man" for his expertise with explosives, stands
trial after a nine-year flight from justice.
His trial is considered a "significant step in the fight against terrorism" in
Indonesia, said Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen, reporting from Jakarta.
However, because the laws did not exist at the time of the bombing, Patek
cannot be charged with terrorism, our correspondent said.
Though, Patek is considered an important source of information about
terrorism-related activity in Indonesia, authorities told our correspondent a
new generation of bomb-makers and planners had emerged in the nine years since
the Bali attacks therefore, they say, "the end is still not in sight" for the
fight against "terrorism" in the island nation.
Patek was extradited to Indonesia after being arrested in January 2011 in the
Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where US commandos later killed al-Qaeda chief
Osama bin Laden.
His trial began amid tight security, with police saying they had deployed
specialist anti-terrorism and anti-mob units across the capital.
Patek arrived at the court in a police armoured vehicle, escorted by armed
police commandos.
Purnomo Yusgiantoro, the Indonesian defence minister, said previously there was
information that Patek had been trying to meet Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad
before his arrest on January 25 last year
Related
Bali bomb suspect extradited to Indonesia
Indonesian security chief says Umar Patek, captured in Pakistan in January,
helped lead US to Osama bin Laden. ( 11-Aug-2011 )
Bali bombing, nine years later
Bali: a paradise scarred
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