Nine more Bali bomb suspects charged
Indonesian prosecutors charged another nine suspects today in connection with last year’s Bali nightclub bombings.
Among them was Ali Gufron, the alleged operations chief of the al-Qaida linked terror group blamed for the attacks.
Gufron, also known as Mukhlas, is charged with helping to plan and execute the bombings and could face the death penalty if convicted, chief prosecutor Muhammad Salim said.
Local and regional security officials say Jemaah Islamiyah funded and organised the October 12 attacks, which killed 202 people, including 26 British holidaymakers.
When Gufron was arrested on December 3 he had taken over as Jemaah Islamiyah’s operations chief, after its former head, Riduan Isamuddin, or Hambali, went into hiding, intelligence officials said.
The eight other suspects were charged with indirect involvement in the attack, said Salim, adding that they face prisons terms of between 12 years and life in jail.
Police have arrested 33 people over the attacks. Prosecutors have now charged 15 of them, and the trials of six, including the alleged mastermind Imam Samudra, have already started on the resort island.
Jemaah Islamiyah’s goal is to establish a pan-Islamic state in South-east Asia. The group’s alleged spiritual leader, Abu Bakar Bashir, is currently on trial in Jakarta charged with treason and a series of church bombings in 2000.
He has denied any wrongdoing, and says Jemaah Islamiyah does not exist.
AP
