http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/osama-bin-laden-directly-financed-bali-blast/story-e6frg6so-1226307669968 Osama bin Laden directly financed Bali blast From: AAP March 23, 2012 12:00AM THE alleged terrorist Umar Patek admitted to involvement in the Bali bombing plot yesterday as evidence emerged that Osama Bin Laden had directly financed the deadly explosion in which 202 people died.
Patek's claim came during a hearing in a West Jakarta court yesterday, in which one of the star witnesses in the case against him, Ali Imron, delivered a detailed account of the formation of the plot and the final days before the 2002 attack in which 88 Australians were killed. Imron confirmed the money used to buy the van that housed the deadly 700kg bomb detonated outside the Sari Club in Kuta came directly from slain al-Qa'ida chief Osama bin Laden. "There was $US30,000 meant for amaliah (funds for jihad) in Southeast Asia given by bin Laden to Mukhlas," Imron told the court. "I know Mukhlas had met Osama bin Laden." Mukhlas, whose real name is Ali Ghufron, was executed in 2008 along with Amrozi and Imam Samudra for their parts in the bombing. Imron said Patek had not been present when he had been appointed as one of the bombmakers at a meeting in early 2002 between members of a Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist cell at the house of Dulmatin, killed in Jakarta in 2010 in a shootout with police. "Dulmatin was to mix the bomb with the help of Abdul Ghoni, Sawad and Umar Patek," Imron said. Ghoni and Sawad are serving life sentences. But Patek, long accused of being the chief bombmaker, denied playing a key role. "When I got to Bali, Sawad was already mixing the bomb," he told the court. "I didn't join in assembling the bomb . . . I never learnt to assemble bombs on such a large scale like the others." It is the first time during his trial that the 45-year-old has responded in any length to the evidence against him. Patek is facing seven charges in relation to his suspected involvement in terrorist activities over more than a decade, including premeditated mass murder for his alleged role in the Bali bombing. He could face the death penalty if convicted. However, in a key moment in yesterday's hearing, which may help Patek avoid a firing squad, Imron claimed that the accused became a reluctant participant in the days just before the bombing. Some explosives detonated inside the Denpasar house being rented by the terror cell as Amrozi dragged one of the devices to the van waiting outside. "It turned out Amrozi didn't lift the box containing the bomb," Imron said. "Instead, he dragged it along the ground and some of the explosives spilled on the floor and ignited. "(Patek) said to me that maybe this is a warning not to do the bombing." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
