IINDONESIA: MILIITANT TELLS HOW HE HELPED IN THE BOMBING IN THE MARRIOT HOTEL IN JAKARTA
Record ID:
358547
IINDONESIA: MILIITANT TELLS HOW HE HELPED IN THE BOMBING IN THE MARRIOT HOTEL IN JAKARTA
- Title: IINDONESIA: MILIITANT TELLS HOW HE HELPED IN THE BOMBING IN THE MARRIOT HOTEL IN JAKARTA
- Date: 3rd August 2004
- Summary: (W3) JAKARTA, INDONESIA (AUGUST 3, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WIDE OF JUDGES AND DEFENDANT, ISMAIL SITTING NEXT TO HIS LAWYERS IN COURT SESSION 0.06 2. CLOSE OF ISMAIL LISTENING TO PROSECUTOR READING OUT CHARGES 0.10 3. SCU ISMAIL 0.15 4. SMV STATE PROSECUTOR READING OUT CHARGES 0.22 5. SLV ISMAIL WALKING AND SITTING BE
- Embargoed: 18th August 2004 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Reuters ID: LVA7UVIW00JJ4AK46UK2CDKGLJBO
- Story Text: Indonesian militant tells court of his role in
bombing of Marriott hotel in Jakarta.
An Indonesian militant told a court on Tuesday
(August 3) he helped one of Asia's most wanted men to bomb
a luxury Jakarta hotel last year because he hated Americans
and wanted to avenge injustices in the Middle East and
Afghanistan.
Ismail, 23, who is accused of involvement in the
planning as well as execution of the attack, said he played
the role of assistant to British-educated Malaysian
engineer Azahari in the August 5 bombing of the J.W.
Marriott Hotel that killed 12 people and injured 150 others.
A relaxed-looking Ismail told the South Jakarta Court
he helped Azahari and was in charge of surveying the
Marriott, admitting that he only followed Azahari orders.
Asked by the judge why the Marriott was selected as a
target, Ismail, wearing a blue checked shirt and blue
trousers, said he hated Americans and Australians.
He said he saw Azahari pack a car with explosives,
which was then driven away by someone else. Police say the
mini-van used in the attack was driven by a suicide bomber.
"I helped Azahari load explosive material to the car,
it was Azahari who prepared it. Azahari prepared all of
it," Ismail said.
He said he now regretted his actions because almost all
those killed and injured were fellow Indonesians.
"I was around 250 metres away when the bombing
happened, I couldn't see it clearly. My view was blocked by
the building next to the hotel. I only saw smoke. When the
bomb occurred Azahari drove the car with me and near
Marriott Asmar took it over, then Azahari and I went with
motorcycle from the site. In my heart I thanked God,"
Ismail described the events to the court.
Ismail said he met Azahari in the late 1990s while studying in
neig
hbouring Malaysia.
He was arrested last November (2003) and his trial
began in May 2004. The charges against him carry a maximum
penalty of death.
Several people have so far been sentenced to jail terms
in connection with the Marriott bombing, but key suspects,
including Azahari, remain at large.
Police have said Ismail was part of a group that had
been planning more attacks at selected foreign targets in
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Ismail told the court on Tuesday he had surveyed a
Citibank branch as well as the Marriott, but gave no
details.
Indonesia has been rocked by a string of bombings by
Islamic militants in the past two years. The worst were the
2002 bombings on the holiday island of Bali that killed 202
people, many of them foreign holidaymakers.
Both the Bali attack and the Marriott bombing have been
linked to Southeast Asian militant Muslim network Jemaah
Islamiah, which has ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda
group.
More than 30 people have been tried and convicted of
involvement in the Bali nightclub blasts.
A decision last month by Indonesia's constitutional
court to annul a key anti-terrorism law used to convict
many of the Bali bombers has raised fears many will launch
fresh appeals and some may even walk free.
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