Indonesian militant sentenced to death

Mastermind of Bali nightclub attacks shouts threats as he is led from court

BALI, Indonesia — An Islamic militant pumped his fist in defiance as he was led from court Wednesday after being convicted and sentenced to death in last year’s Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people

“Go to hell, you infidels!” shouted Imam Samudra, his face twisted in fury, after a panel of five judges ordered him to face a firing squad for his role in the Oct. 12 attacks.

Samudra is the second person sentenced to death for the bombings, which killed mostly Western tourists and thrust Indonesia into the front lines of the U.S.-led war on terror.

Police had to restrain Samudra, who lunged at Western reporters as he was led out of the courtroom, where relatives of victims also were sitting.

“Death to Australia!” he yelled. Of the 202 killed in the blasts, 88 were Australians and seven were Americans.

He made a parting threat to President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, drawing an imaginary knife across his throat and shouting “Bush, Sharon” as he was bundled into a police van taking him back to his cell.

Last month, Samudra’s co-conspirator Amrozi bin Nurhasyim was also sentenced to death. Three accomplices not directly implicated in the bombing received between 15 and 16 years in jail.

Death sentences in Indonesia are rare, and are carried out by a firing squad of 15 paramilitary policemen. Both Samudra and Amrozi are likely to be on death row for several years while their appeals are heard.

The verdict against Samudra, found guilty of playing a key role in the attacks, may quell criticism that Indonesia’s government is failing to crack down on terror in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Verdicts against two dozen more suspects are expected in the coming months in an unprecedented series of trials of Islamic militants that have exposed the labyrinth of terror networks in Southeast Asia.

The trials also have shed light on Jemaah Islamiyah, the alQaida-linked militant group blamed for the Bali blasts and last month’s deadly attack on Jakarta’s J.W. Marriott hotel.

Judge Ifa Sudewi called Samudra “the intellectual mastermind” of the Bali attacks, saying he directed other conspirators, channeled funds to the bombers and helped select the target.

He was motivated by a hatred of the West and a desire to avenge the alleged deaths of Muslims at the hands of the United States in Afghanistan and Iraq, she said.

“The accused has never regretted his actions or shown any remorse.” she said. “He has demonstrated nothing to us that would warrant a lighter sentence.”

Samudra, arrested last year as he tried to flee Indonesia’s main island of Java, has said he is proud to die as a martyr. But he denied the charges that he had commanded the group of militants blamed for the attack.

His defense lawyers said they would appeal the verdict, which they claimed was illegal because it was based on anti-terror laws not passed until after the attack.

“There was no justice in this case. He should not have gotten the death sentence,” said attorney Qadar Faisal.

Some in the courtroom cheered when the verdict was read.

Australian Ross McKeon, who lost his wife and daughter in the attack, said the sentence came as a “relief.”

“It’s been a horrific time over the last 11 months,” McKeon said. “I am glad that the guilty verdict was given.”