Monday June 28

Indonesian police arrest Bali-linked terror suspect

Police in Indonesia have arrested a man for alleged links with a group involved in a number of terrorist bombings including the Bali bombings. Police have not named the man, however he is connected to a man arrested in January for allegedly planning to bomb the national police headquarters. The latest arrest was carried out on Sunday in Nusa Tenggara province.

A senior police spokesman said the suspect was connected with Suryana but his exact role in a number of plots was under investigation.

When Suryana was arrested, police said they hoped to gain information from him on the whereabouts of two fugitive Malaysian explosive experts being sought in connection with a number of Jemaah Islamiah related bombings, including the attacks on the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta and the Bali nightclubs.

Tuesday July 20

Terror case may spark Bali appeal

While a decision to overturn the anti-terror laws is considered by legal experts as unlikely, Wirawan said he was confident the court would rule on the merits of the legal argument and not because of government and international pressure to uphold the tough Bali verdicts.

Amrozi’s legal team believed criminal laws carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail should have been used

Indonesia's Supreme Court rejected an appeal lodged by Amrozi in January, confirming an earlier rejection by the Bali High Court.

The anti-terror laws apply to anyone found to have funded, assisted or distributed weapons, explosives or ammunition for terrorist attacks, as well as those involved in planning or facilitating the operation.

Saturday July 24

Bali bomb convictions still stand despite new ruling

Convictions against the Bali bombers still stand despite a ruling by Indonesia's top court that the law on which the verdicts were based is unconstitutional.

"The Constitutional Court ruling does not apply retroactively either," the court's chief judge Jimly Asshidiqie said, when asked about the implication of the court's ruling on the Bali convictions.

Asshidiqie is the chief of a nine-member panel of judges at the court which ruled Friday that a subsidiary law which made the main anti-terror law retroactive -- to cover the Bali attack -- violated the constitution.

The ruling was in favour of Masykur Abdul Kadir, who challenged the retroactive use of the law when appealing against a 15-year jail term for helping the bombers.

Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra backed the chief judge, saying, "all legal actions taken in the Bali case, especially those which already have permanent legal force, still stand."

"As for cases which are still in court or in the appeal process, we leave it to judges to consider," he said.

In their five-to-four ruling on Friday, the judges found one of the provisions in the constitution stipulates that "the right not to be tried under a law with retrospective effect" is an inalienable human right.

Indonesia is also preparing to put Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir on trial again. Police say they have new evidence that he led the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, which is blamed for a string of attacks, including the Bali blasts and the Marriott hotel bombing which killed 12 people in Jakarta last August. One of the cleric's lawyers said he should be freed. Mahendra said prosecutors could revise prosecution against Bashir by applying provisions in the criminal code.

Monday July 26, 03:12 PM

Anti-terror laws dumped for new Bali cases

Indonesian police will not use anti-terrorism legislation to prosecute five new Bali bombing suspects, after a court ruled last week that it is unconstitutional to do so.

The Indonesian Government rushed through tough anti-terrorism decrees, which were later formalised into law, a week after the Bali bombings.

The legislation was made retroactive to cover the attack, but the Constitutional Court ruled that the retroactivity was unconstitutional. Inspector General I Made Mangku Pastika, who led the hunt for the Bali bombers, said he still expects to get convictions using other legislation. Indonesia's Koran Tempo newspaper quoted Inspector General Pastika as saying: "We will now use the penal code or the emergency laws. I do not think there is a problem".

The court's Chief Judge, Jimly Asshidiqie, has said all Bali convictions would stand because the new ruling could itself not be made retroactive.

Defence lawyers say it provides grounds for appeal, including by those facing execution.

"All legal actions taken in the Bali case, especially those which already have permanent legal force, still stand," Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Saturday. "As for cases which are still in court or in the appeal process, we leave it to judges to consider."

The five new suspects were arrested at Sukoharjo in Central Java on June 30 and have since been moved to Bali. Police say one had attended planning meetings for the nightclub bombings while the four others, including a Malaysian, are suspected of helping to hide the first suspect.

The only Bali suspect currently on trial is Jhoni Hendrawan, also known as Idris.

He was also charged under the anti-terrorism law but the case was moved to Jakarta because of his alleged involvement in the Marriott hotel bombing in the capital last August. That attack killed 12 people and was also blamed on JI.

Idris is accused of attending several meetings to plan the Bali attack and with surveying targets. He is also accused of detonating a bomb, which did not claim any casualties, near the United States Consulate on October 12.

Trial prosecutor Tubagus Arief Aziz said he would continue with his sentence recommendation when the hearing resumes at South Jakarta district court on

Tuesday. "If I understand it correctly, nothing has changed for this trial. The Constitutional Court verdict only affects cases which have not been tried yet," Mr Aziz said. He said the ruling does not apply to ongoing trials.

Tuesday July 27, Bali victims slam court ruling

Indonesian victims of the Bali bombings have joined Australian families in slamming a court ruling that puts dozens of verdicts under a cloud as police charged four men with fresh terror offences.

Prosecutors also opted to use now questionable anti-terror laws for the only Bali suspect currently on trial, Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, asking for 10 years' jail during a court appearance.

Indonesia's powerful Constitutional Court last week threw the Bali trials into chaos with a ruling that new anti-terrorism laws used to convict the plotters last year were invalid because they were applied retrospectively.

Legal experts are divided over whether it will affect the 25 Bali trials already completed and several cases still in process, including an upcoming trial for radical cleric and suspected Jemaah Islamiah spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir.

But Bali police chief Made Mangku Pastika said four men arrested in Solo, central Java, earlier this month would likely face trial under the anti-terror laws for hiding several of the Bali suspects.

A fifth would be charged with carrying a handgun in violation of emergency laws in place since 1951, he said.

"For the Bali bombing cases that have been sentenced by the courts it's no problem," Pastika said.

"For those who are still under investigation, we will adjust the evidence to use existing laws." Indonesia's government insists the bombers will not go free.

Those Accused or convicted

Main Perpetrators	Sentence Requested				Final Ruling
Imam Samudra alias Abdul Azis	Death				Death**
Amrozi bin Nurhasyim	Death				Death **
Ali Imron alias Ale	20 years				Life*
Muchlas alias Ali Gufron	Death				Death*
Mubarok alias Hutomo Pamungkas	Life				Life*
Suranto Abdul Ghoni alias Umar Alias Wayan	Life				Life
Sawad alias Sarijo alias Zaenal Abidin	Life				Life
Accomplices
Masykur Abdul Kadir		15 years				15 years
Silvester Tendean (chemicals shop)		9 months				7 months
Thoriquddin alias Abu Rusydan alias Hamzah		9 years				3 years 6 months
Idris alias Jhoni Hendrawan		10 years				Not yet sentenced
Sudigdoyo alias Sudiq alias Dwi bin Muryoyo		10 years				6 years
Serang Group
Abdul Rauf alias Sam			18 years			16 years
Andri Ocktoavia alias Yudi			18 years			16 years
Andi Hidayat alias Agus			18 years			15 years
Junaidi alias Amin alias Engkong			18 years			15 years
Solo Group
Hernianto				20 years			12 years
Herlambang alias Lambang				10 years			6 years
Muh.Musyafak alias Abdul Hamid				10 years			7 years
Muhamad Najib Nawawi alias Nadjib				10 years			7 years
Ahmad Budi Wibowo				7 years			4 years
Makmuri alias Muri				10 years			7 years
Bambang Setiono alias Saiful				9 years			7 years
East Kalimantan Group
Mujarod alias Muhammad Rusdi bin Salim				7 years				5 years ***
Muhammd Yunus bin Samijah bin Karim				10 years				7 years
Syamsul Arifin alias Ilham in Abdul Mutholib				3 years				3 years
Eko Hadi Prasetyo bin Sukastopo alias Amin				6 years				4 years 6 months***
Sofyan Hadi alias Bejo alias Bae bin Niti				7 years				6 years
Puryanto bin Yatimin alias Hartono alias Pak De				7 years				4 years 6 months***

Sirojul Munir bin Achmad Asmuni	6 years	4 years
Imam Santoso alias Eko Suparman	7 years	4 years 8 months ***
Firmansyah bin Edi Harun	7 years	4 years ***
Hamzah Baya alias Soleh bin Bakir	8.5 years	6 years***
Sukastopo bin Kartomiharjo	3 years	3 years***
Muhajir bin Amin	7 years	4 years
Ahmad Roihan alias Sa'ad alias Mat Kucang Legal status not yet clear
Rudi Hermawan alias Ali Legal status not yet clear
Muhamad Fadli Legal status not yet clear

* Appeal at the Supreme Court ** Appeal Denied *** Appealed for pardon from President Megawati