INDONESIA/FILE: Muslim cleric Bashir says Bali bombers will die as heros as ndonesia says their execution will be in early November.

Record ID: 356919

  • Title: INDONESIA/FILE: Muslim cleric Bashir says Bali bombers will die as heros as ndonesia says their execution will be in early November.
  • Date: 9th November 2008
  • Summary: ASIA) TENGGULUN VILLAGE, LAMONGAN, EAST JAVA PROVINCE, INDONESIA (NOVEMBER 8, 2008) (REUTERS) "Al-ISLAM" BOARDING SCHOOL, WHERE ONE OF THE BALI BOMBERS, AMROZI USED TO TEACH PLACARD READING "THREE HEROES ARE KILLED, MORE THAN 3000 ARE BORN" SUPPORTERS CAR CARRYING ABU BAKAR BASHIR ARRIVING AT SCHOOL BASHIR GREETED BY SUPPORTERS AND BIG PHOTOGRAPHS OF THREE BOMBERS IMAM S
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5DSXZUQ5ZCPV8MG1XG2LAE13F
  • Story Text: Firebrand cleric Abu Bakar Bashir visits the family of two convicted bombers, Mukhlas and Amrozi, in their hometown, ahead of their imminent execution by firing squad for their role in the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, which killed 202 people.
    Indonesian militant Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, who experts say was the spiritual leader of Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah arrived at an Islamic boarding school in East Java province to meet the family of brothers Mukhlas and Amrozi, two of the three convicted Bali bombers.
    Hundreds of supporters greeted Bashir as he arrived at the Al Islam madrasa, barely 200 metres from the bombers home, which the brothers, Mukhlas and Amrozi, attended.

    "We are sad but we are also happy because once the are executed, they will die as heroes," Bashir said before a closed door meeting with the family.
    The three convicted Bali bombers on death row -- Imam Samudra, and brothers Amrozi and Mukhlas, also known as Ali Ghufron are expected to be executed by firing squad early in November.
    An Indonesian official denied on Saturday (November 8) there were any factors delaying their execution, as relatives of two of the Islamic militants left their home village to seek a final prison visit.
    Indonesia does not announce the specific date or time of executions, but the attorney general's office has said the three militants would be executed in early November for their role in the nightclub bombings six years ago, in which 202 people died, mostly foreign tourists.
    Officials said the men, now in isolated cells in Nusakambangan prison island in central Java, will be executed simultaneously on the same island by firing squads.
    Reuters video shot in October 2008, showed the Bali bombers praying with others under the watchful eyes of prison guards.

    "People like me are ready to die and if it is Allah's will, ready to be executed too. I don't care how we die, whether by injection or beheading, it is all the devil's methods," Mukhlas said after what could be his last Eid prayers.
    The trio were expected to be executed before the holy fasting month of Ramadan that began in September but they lodged a legal challenge in August, saying that Indonesia's method of executing convicts by firing squad was inhumane.
    Some media reports suggested weather conditions may have delayed the execution on Friday (November 7) night.
    But Jasman Pandjaitan, a spokesman for the Attorney General's office, denied there was anything holding up the execution.
    Security has been tight in Indonesia in the past week as some analysts fear a hardline backlash if the executions go ahead.
    There have been a number of threats made to foreign embassies and against Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other officials in recent days.
    In an interview with Reuters late last year, the militants said they had no regrets, except for the fact some Muslims died in the blasts.
    The attacks by Jemaah Islamiah were intended to scare away foreigners as part of their drive to make Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, part of a larger Islamic caliphate.
    The two blasts, on Bali's Kuta strip on October 12, 2002, 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.
    Indonesia has not suffered a major bomb attack since 2005, when suicide attacks on Bali beach side restaurants killed 20.
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