- Title: INDONESIA-UMAR PATEK REAX: Indonesians welcome Bali bomber jail sentence.
- Date: 22nd June 2012
- Summary: JAKARTA, INDONESIA (JUNE 22, 2012) (REUTERS) JAKARTA NATIONAL MONUMENT TOP OF JAKARTA NATIONAL MONUMENT VARIOUS PEOPLE GATHERING IN FRONT OF MOSQUE AFTER FRIDAY PRAYERS (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) RESIDENT YUSWAR ALAM SAYING: "I think what he received was appropriate, even though he is considered to have done something that is considered outside the limits of humanity." MORE OF PEOPLE OUTSIDE MOSQUE NUR JOHAN, TALKING WITH A COLLEAGUE OUTSIDE THE MOSQUE (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) NUR JOHAN SAYING: "Umar Patek was sentenced to 20 years and he expressed regret and appealed to like-minded people not to take any action as he did for the Christmas and Bali bombings. I think this is a pretty good lesson." PEOPLE OUTSIDE MOSQUE VARIOUS OF NEWSPAPER SELLERS
- Embargoed: 7th July 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Indonesia
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA4TT9CDI1HHQD43CIT417G3UYY
- Story Text: Indonesians in Jakarta welcomed on Friday (June 22) a court decision to convict Umar Patek in the final trial of those responsible for the country's worst militant attack.
A court in the capital sentenced Patek, who made bombs that killed 202 people at Bali nightclubs in 2002, to 20 years in jail on Thursday (June 21).
Patek also mixed chemicals for 13 bombs that detonated in five churches in Jakarta on Christmas Eve in 2000, killing around 15 people.
The 45-year-old was captured in the same Pakistan town where U.S. forces killed Osama bin Laden, and security officials say he belonged to the banned Jemaah Islamiah group linked to al Qaeda.
Some people on the streets of Jakarta said Patek's punishment was fair for what the militant had done.
"I think what he received was appropriate, even though he is considered to have done something that is considered outside the limits of humanity," local resident Yuswar Alam said after attending Friday prayers.
Nur Johan said he also agreed with the sentence as Patek has shown remorse during the trial.
"Umar Patek was sentenced to 20 years and he expressed regret and appealed to like-minded people not to take any action as he did for the Christmas and Bali bombings. I think this is a pretty good lesson," Johan said.
After the Bali bombings, security forces detained nearly 600 militants, most of whom have been jailed.
Three main perpetrators of the bombings were convicted and executed by firing squad in 2008.
Some people on Friday said Patek should have been dealt the same sentence.
"If only 20 years in prison there will be pardon, remission then he (Umar Patek) will be free. If the government wants to enforce the law for all people who have eliminated life, the penalty should be a death sentence," said newspaper seller Iwan, who like many other Indonesians goes by just one name.
The Bali bombs were a watershed for Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim population, forcing the secular state to confront the presence of violent militants.
It has since been largely successful in containing militant attacks and there have been no large-scale attacks on Western targets since 2009 when suicide bombers blew themselves up in two Jakarta hotels, killing nine people and wounding 53. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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