Bali suspect faces possible death
Wednesday, April 30, 2003 Posted: 12:28 AM EDT (0428 GMT)
BALI, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesian prosecutors formally charged their first suspect Wednesday in last year's terror bombings on the resort island of Bali, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
The suspect, known by the single name Amrozi, allegedly belongs to Jemaah Islamiyah, the al Qaeda linked regional terror group blamed for the near-simultaneous bombings at two Bali nightclubs.
One of 29 people detained in connection with the October 12 attack, Amrozi faces charges of violating anti-terrorism laws that could carry the death penalty, a spokesman for the prosecution said.
His trial was expected to begin before May 12. No more details of the charges were immediately available.
Amrozi's arrest in November last year was considered the first major break in the investigation into the bombings.
Police claim he bought the explosives used in the attack and drove the van that blew up outside one of the clubs.
The blasts were the bloodiest terror assault since the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Jemaah Islamiyah also is thought to be behind a series of Christmas Eve church bombings in Indonesia in 2000, as well as a foiled plot to blow up U.S., Australian, British and Israeli missions in Singapore.
The group's alleged leader, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, is currently on trial in Jakarta charged with treason in connection with the church attacks. He has not been charged in the Bali bombing.
Dozens of its alleged members have been arrested in Singapore and Malaysia. The group's goal, according to regional law enforcement officials, is to establish a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
Other suspects arrested over the Bali blasts are expected to go on trial later this year. All the trials are scheduled to take place on Bali island.
Source: CNN.com
Wednesday, April 30, 2003 Posted: 12:28 AM EDT (0428 GMT)
BALI, Indonesia (AP) -- Indonesian prosecutors formally charged their first suspect Wednesday in last year's terror bombings on the resort island of Bali, which killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.
The suspect, known by the single name Amrozi, allegedly belongs to Jemaah Islamiyah, the al Qaeda linked regional terror group blamed for the near-simultaneous bombings at two Bali nightclubs. One of 29 people detained in connection with the October 12 attack, Amrozi faces charges of violating anti-terrorism laws that could carry the death penalty, a spokesman for the prosecution said.
His trial was expected to begin before May 12. No more details of the charges were immediately available.
Amrozi's arrest in November last year was considered the first major break in the investigation into the bombings.
Police claim he bought the explosives used in the attack and drove the van that blew up outside one of the clubs.
The blasts were the bloodiest terror assault since the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Jemaah Islamiyah also is thought to be behind a series of Christmas Eve church bombings in Indonesia in 2000, as well as a foiled plot to blow up U.S., Australian, British and Israeli missions in Singapore.
The group's alleged leader, Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, is currently on trial in Jakarta charged with treason in connection with the church attacks. He has not been charged in the Bali bombing.
Dozens of its alleged members have been arrested in Singapore and Malaysia. The group's goal, according to regional law enforcement officials, is to establish a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia.
Other suspects arrested over the Bali blasts are expected to go on trial later this year. All the trials are scheduled to take place on Bali island.
Source: CNN.com
