- Title: INDONESIA: MAN ACCUSED OF BALI BOMB PLOT CLAIMS HE WAS TORTURED BY INTERROGATORS.
- Date: 23rd June 2003
- Summary: (U3) DENPASAR, BALI (JUNE 23, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. GV: PANEL OF JUDGES ENTERING ROOM 0.05 2. MCU: CHIEF JUDGE OPENING SESSION 0.13 3. GV/PAN: MUKHLAS ENTERING COURT ROOM 0.25 4. MV/GV: MUKHLAS TAKING HIS SEAT, SHOUTING "GOD IS GREATEST" (2 SHOTS) 0.43 5. GV: AUDIENCE LISTENING 0.49 6. MUKHLAS READING OUT HIS OBJECTIONS
- Embargoed: 8th July 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: DENPASAR, BALI, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Reuters ID: LVA8Q1U5SOB90C3LYCEAP3VF169J
- Story Text: The man accused of being in overall control of last
year's deadly Bali blasts has told an Indonesian court that
interrogators stripped, tortured and forced him to say he was
part of the operation.
In his first opportunity to defend himself in court on
Monday (June 23), Mukhlas, also known as Ali Gufron, retracted
all of his statements to the police that were included in his
dossier.
"My statements in the legal dossiers cannot be accounted
for because I was physically tortured during the questioning.
It was brutal and inhuman," said Mukhlas, the third key Bali
suspect to go on trial.
The 43-year-old preacher has been charged with plotting
and organising terror crimes. The alleged operations head of
Southeast Asia's radical Jemaah Islamiah Muslim network, faces
the death penalty if convicted over the blasts that killed
more than 200 people, mainly foreigners partying in Bali bars.
"To be stripped naked and humiliated like I was may not be
a big deal for others. But to me as a Muslim it is a disgrace
in the name of Allah. I rather have a bullet through my head,"
Mukhlas told the court after claiming that his genitals were
interfered with and his testicles were hit by a wooden object.
It was the first time that a Bali blast suspect chose to
read out his own defence to complement the legal objections
from his lawyers. The two other key suspects who are now on
trial have left their defence to their legal counsels.
In last week's opening trial, prosecutors said Mukhlas was
chosen by an August 2002 meeting of Islamic militants to have
overall responsibility for the Bali operation. The prosecution
also said Mukhlas met Osama bin Laden in 1987 in Afghanistan.
Mukhlas said his encounter with Washington's prime suspect
over the September 11, 2001 strikes on the United States, was
brought up when police interrogators tortured him.
Indonesian police, especially during the authoritarian
rule of former President Suharto, were sometimes accused of
forcing suspects to confess. Police were not immediately
available to comment on Mukhlas' accusations.
Indonesia has blamed Jemaah Islamiah, which officials
linked to bin Laden's al Qaeda, for the Bali blasts.
The world's most populous Muslim nation has been praised
for investigating the Bali attacks amid fears Islamic
radicalism and anti-American sentiment was on the rise in the
country.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None