http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/09/04/bali-terror-suspect-could-serve-only-a-few-years.html Bali terror suspect could serve only a few years Associated Press, Jakarta | Sun, 09/04/2011 7:51 AM An Indonesian man blamed for Southeast Asia's deadliest suicide bombing could escape with just a few years behind bars.
The tough anti-terrorism law passed after the double nightclub blasts in Bali cannot be used retroactively against Umar Patek, leaving prosecutors scrambling to convict him of lesser crimes, from premeditated murder to immigration violations. Patek, an al-Qaida-linked militant captured on Jan. 25 in the same Pakistani town where Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces, allegedly told interrogators he made the explosives used in the 2002 attacks on Bali island. The bombings killed 202 people, including 88 Australians and seven Americans. They were followed by near annual suicide attacks on glitzy Western hotels, restaurants and an embassy in the world's most populous Muslim nation. More than 680 militants have been rounded up, tried in open courts and convicted or executed under anti-terror laws passed in 2003, including 32 for their roles in the Bali bombings, according to police and prosecutors. In 2004, however, the constitutional court ruled that the law could no longer be used retroactively. Patek will be the first big fish to test that decision. Authorities will instead use a Dutch colonial-era penal code to charge Patek with premeditated murder and a decades-old emergency decree to charge him with possession of explosives, said Rear Marshal Chairul Akbar, a high official at Indonesia's anti-terrorism agency. Both carry a maximum penalty of death, but getting a conviction will be hard. "We waited nearly six months to have him deported from Pakistan because we are worried he'd get off after just a few years in jail," Akbar said. Indonesia had hoped the U.S., Australia or the Philippines - all of which had reason to put him behind bars - would agree to take the veteran Jemaah Islamiyah member. "But when that didn't happen," Akbar said, "we had no choice but to bring him home [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/
