Trial Info Continues 4

argued that moving the hearings to Central Java's Cilacap district, near the prison where they are being held, would make it easier to produce more evidence and witnesses.

But a Denpasar court judge dismissed the argument.

"The convicts' argue that it is to present new evidence and witnesses, and that it will be easier for expert witnesses to appear in Cilacap's district court, but no detailed explanation of the argument has been given, hence it is rejected," Ida Bagus Putu Madeg, presiding judge for Samudra's case, said.

The three men face death by firing squad for their role in the two nightclub blasts which killed more than 200 people, including foreign tourists and Indonesians.

Indonesia's Supreme Court struck down the three men's final appeal in March 2004, and rejected a similar request for a case review last year.

But lawyers have argued that the first case review was not heard according to proper procedures.

The judge also said that the Denpasar court, which is holding separate hearings for each of the Bali bombers, did not have the jurisdiction to decide whether or not the three convicts could be allowed to testify in Cilacap, something that only the Supreme Court could decide.

The district court in Denpasar would now proceed with the case review on March 10 when new evidence and expert witnesses were due to be presented. Under Indonesian law, the Bali court will submit results of the review to the Supreme Court, which will then give a verdict.

The Bali bombers said in a statement read out by their lawyers in October that if they were executed, their blood would "become the light for the faithful ones and burning hell fire for the infidels and hypocrites".

They have also repeatedly said they would not seek for a clemency from the president, saying that they want to die as martyrs.

(Writing by Mita Valina Liem, editing by Ed Davies and Sanjeev Miglani)

Steadily Losing Their Appeal

Court Rejects Bali Bombers' Third Appeal Saying 'Nothing New' in Trios' Latest Attempt to Delay Date with a Firing Squad.

(5/18/2008) The three Bali Bombers – Amrozi, Ali Gufron and Iman Samudera – have once again been rebuffed by the Bali District Court in their continuing attempt to delay their execution before a firing squad.

In rejecting their third appeal filed to the Supreme Court, Nyoman Gde Wirya – the Chairman of the District Court in Denpasar, told Tempo Interaktif on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, "the material (in the appeal) is the same as in the first and second appeal." Wirya also told the press that the final determination regarding the third appeal lies solely with the Supreme Court and has forwarded the appeal to Jakarta, while refusing to again convene a judicial panel in Bali to hear the appeal.

In a written communication from the Bali Court to the Supreme Court, the Bali Jurist has reportedly attached the formal decision in the first appeal and the minutes of the second appeal of the "Bali Bombers" to the latest appeal. The Bali Court is refusing to convene a panel of judges and have, instead, chosen to send their appeal directly to the Supreme Court.

The "Bali Bombers" have now appealed their case three times. The first appeal was rejected by the Bali District Court and the Supreme Court. A second appeal was withdrawn by the Bombers' attorneys when their request for a change of venue and the attendance of the 3 accused in Bali was refused by the Bali judges. The third and latest appeal, purportedly prepared directly by the three condemned men, was submitted to the Bali Court via the Chief Warden of the Batu Prison in Nusakambangan where the "Bali Bombers" now sit on death row.

Nothing New

Wirya told Tempo Interaktif, the back-to-back repetitive appeal process being pursued by the three convicts is at odds with the accepted principle of a simple, speedy and low cost judicial process guaranteed under law in Indonesia.

Wirya said the entire matter now rests with the Supreme Court. "If the Court orders us to convene a panel of judges, we will do so," he explained. In the meantime, preparations for the final execution of the three continues.

Wirya said that there was no new evidence included in the latest appeal, presenting only a repetition of the earlier arguments that the conviction and death sentences delivered against the three on July 23, 2004 is invalid because it applies a new anti-terrorist law passed in 2004 which post dates a crime committed in 2002. That legal argument was dismissed in the initial appeal.

Bali bombers to be executed in C. Java

JAKARTA: Three men currently on death row for their involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings will be executed in Central Java on an unspecified date, Justice and Human Rights Minister Andi Matalatta said Friday.

He said he had given permission to move the execution venue for Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron from Bali to Central Java.

"We sent the approval letter to the Attorney General's Office two weeks ago," Andi said at the presidential office.

He said the date for the executions was not yet set as the Attorney General's Office was still waiting for the appeals process to be concluded by the Supreme Court.

The three bombers filed a third appeal with the Denpasar District Court in Bali this month, despite an earlier ruling by the Supreme Court that there would be no more reviews of their convictions.

The Denpasar court sentenced the trio to death on Aug. 8, 2003. They were convicted of the nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

The verdict was later upheld by the Supreme Court, which turned down their appeal in 2004. -- JP

UK Policy on the death penalty;

The British Government and the European Union actively appose the death penalty.

From correspondence received on 06th August 2008.:

“UK policy is to oppose the death penalty in all circumstances and the UK, through the FCO, works actively for global abolition of the death penalty. The UK, in co-ordination with EU partners, makes regular demarches in other states on their use of the death penalty. Demarches can be general statements on the issue of the death penalty or include details of specific cases. The most recent EU demarche on the death penalty in Indonesia took place in September 2007. It followed an announcement by the Indonesian Supreme Court that it had dismissed an application for a Judicial Review of the death sentences applied in connection with the three individuals convicted of terrorist activities in relation to the 2002 Bali bombings.

A further application for a Judicial Review of the cases of Amrozi Nurhasyim, Imam Samudra and Ali Ghufron is ongoing, with no final decision as yet. There is currently press speculation in Indonesia about the possibility of a number of death sentences being carried out in the near future. The media has suggested that this group will include Nigerians convicted of drug offences, Indonesians convicted of murder and the Bali bombers. Given that the bombers are still pursuing legal action in relation to their sentencing we do not think that they will be included in any early executions. The EU is likely to express its concern over the planned executions, whomever they involve.”