- Title: INDONESIA/FILE: Indonesia execution of Bali bombers sparks clashes
- Date: 9th November 2008
- Summary: (ASIA) SERANG, WEST JAVA, INDONESIA (NOVEMBER 9, 2008) (REUTERS) HEAVY SECURITY SURROUND VILLAGERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS WAITING FOR IMAM SAMUDRA'S BODY
- Embargoed: 24th November 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
- Reuters ID: LVAK1QEYDX7LZGCCJR5WT9IE6E
- Story Text: Thousands, including family and villagers, bury Bali bomber Imam Samudra in his Serang hometown in West Java under heavy police watch, hours after he was executed by firing squad for killing 202 people in the 2002 resort island nightclub bombings.
Thousands, including family and villagers, buried Bali bomber Imam Samudra in his Serang hometown in West Java under heavy police watch on Sunday (November 9), hours after he was executed by firing squad for killing 202 people in the 2002 resort island nightclub bombings.
Imam Samudra, 38, together with two others from the militant group Jemaah Islamiah - Mukhlas, 48, and Amrozi, 46 - were executed by firing squad on Nusakambangan island in central Java shortly after midnight, the attorney-general's office said.
They had set off explosions of two night-clubs on Bali's Kuta strip on October 12, 2002 killing 202 people, including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesians.
The bombers' bodies were flown from the prison by helicopter to their hometowns -- brothers Mukhlas and Amrozi to Tenggulun in Lamongan, East Java, and Imam Samudra to Serang in West Java.
Imam Samudra's body - in a green bier that was draped with black velvet with Koranic verses stitched in gold thread - was brought in an ambulance to the village mosque for prayers to a tumultuous welcome under heavy police guard. Some jostled to touch the body or help carry the bier as his family members shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great).
The village also had banners that hailed the bombers' deeds, with one saying "Amrozi, Imam Samudra, Mukhlas are fighters not terrorists"
Police kept the entire funeral procession under watch as Imam Samudra's family and fellow villagers took the body to the village cemetery for burial.
Survivors and victims' relatives in Indonesia welcomed the execution of the three Bali bombers on Sunday (November 9), as they gathered at the site of the 2002 nightclub bombings on the resort island of Bali.
"It's very hurtful, because we have so many people that have got killed from Australia. It's like 80 people that have actually got killed and we know a lot of people -- it's very, very upsetting," said Dora Marshya, an Australian tourist who lost friends and a cousin during the bombings.
Tumini, a survivor, was happy as she has been waiting for the executions for long time.
"I am happy, I have been waiting for this moment," she said.
Some 20 Australians and 50 Indonesians from families of the victims participated in an Australian-sponsored, low-key memorial on the resort island to remember their loved ones.
The bombings in Kuta Beach on October 12, 2002 killed mostly Western tourists, among them 88 Australians, and were blamed on the Southeast Asia militant group, Jemaah Islamiah.
The group said the attacks were intended to deter foreigners as part of a drive to make Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, part of a larger Islamic caliphate.
Although there have been no major bomb attacks since 2005, Indonesia is considered at risk.
Security has been tight in Indonesia and some analysts have said they feared a backlash if the executions went ahead.
Although there have been no major bomb attacks since 2005, Indonesia is considered still at risk. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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