INDONESIA/FILE: Three Bali bombers executed in Indonesia

Record ID: 356546

  • Title: INDONESIA/FILE: Three Bali bombers executed in Indonesia
  • Date: 9th November 2008
  • Summary: (BN9) DENPASAR, BALI, INDONESIA (FILE - AUGUST, 2003) (REUTERS) VICTIMS' FAMILIES VICTIMS' FAMILIES HUGGING ONE ANOTHER (BN9) DENPASAR, BALI, INDONESIA (FILE - AUGUST, 2003) (REUTERS) AMROZI CHEERING FOR THE SENTENCE AMROZI GIVING THUMBS-UP AND LEAVING THE COURT ESCORTED BY POLICE (BN9) DENPASAR, BALI, INDONESIA (FILE) (REUTERS) MUKHLAS WALKING INTO COURT AND SITTING IN
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVADJQIO1CL67XGMDV9FGJW7D453
  • Story Text: Indonesia executes three Muslim militants sentenced to death for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.
    Indonesia executed three Muslim militants for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people on the resort island, the attorney-general's office said on Sunday (November 9).
    The three men -- Imam Samudra, Mukhlas and Amrozi -- were executed by firing squad on Nusakambangan island in central Java shortly after midnight, Jasman Pandjaitan, a spokesman for the attorney-general's office, told a news conference.

    "A few minutes ago, at 00:15 the three men Amrozi Nur Hasim, Abdul Aziz alias Imam Samudra alias Fatih alias Kudama alias Abu Umar alias Hendri alias Faiz Ilsan and Ali Ghufron alian Mukhlas were executed by firing squad," Pandjaitan said.
    The two explosions on Bali's Kuta strip on Oct. 12, 2002 -- one at Paddy's Bar and the other at the Sari Club -- killed 202 people including 88 Australians and 38 Indonesian citizens.
    Muhammad Chozin, brother of Amrozi and Mukhlas said that a relative had seen bodies of the executed men which will be released to their familier for burial.

    "Our hope is that the souls of our brothers have been taken by the green birds," Chozin said.
    Officials had previously said that after the executions, the bombers' bodies would be taken by helicopter to their respective home towns -- brothers Mukhlas and Amrozi to Lamongan, in east Java, and Imam Samudra to Serang, west Java.
    Security has been tight in Indonesia and some analysts say they feared a hardline backlash if the executions went ahead.
    Earlier this week police laid down barbed wire and stationed armed officers at the entrance to the port that serves the prison island which housed the three men.
    The Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) 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.
    In an interview with Reuters late last year, the militants said their only regret was that some Muslims were killed.
    Although there have been no major bomb attacks since 2005, Indonesia is considered at risk.
    The Indonesian anti-terrorist unit, Detachment 88, was involved in a series of raids last year that authorities say rounded up the heads of JI and its military wing.
    Ten suspected militants were detained in July during raids in Sumatra and a large cache of explosives was seized.
    In October, police said they had foiled a plan to attack a major oil storage facility in Jakarta.
    Police are seeking Noordin Top, a Malaysian considered a main figure behind a series of bombings, including a second set of blasts in Bali in 2005 in which more than 20 people were killed.
    The two blasts, on Bali's Kuta strip dealt a severe blow to the island's tourist industry but also led to Indonesia cooperating more deeply with the West on tackling the threat from Islamic militants.
    Hospitals were overwhelmed and struggled to care for hundreds of injured, many with horrific burns from the explosions near Kuta beach and the inferno that followed. There were shortages of medical supplies including pain-killers and saline solution.
    Bodies of victims wrapped in white sheets filled the morgue of Bali's main hospital. Friends and relatives searched for missing loved ones in the wards.
    The most powerful of two blasts demolished the Sari Club, popular with young backpackers and surfers who flock to Kuta from all over the world, particularly Australia.
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