Posted on 11/17/2003 9:56:18 AM PST by knighthawk
The man who masterminded the Bali bombings has lost his appeal against a death sentence.
Imam Samudra is the second key bomber on death row to have his appeal rejected, after Amrozi.
Antara news agency reports Bali High Court chief I Made Tara has rejected the appeals of Samudra and of several others who sought lower prison terms.
Samudra's lawyer Wirawan Adnan has told AFP he had not been notified of the High Court's ruling but was not surprised.
He declined comment on whether Samudra will now appeal to Indonesia's Supreme Court, as Amrozi has done.
Investigators believe Samudra is a leading member of the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) terror network, which staged the attack on two crowded nightclubs to avenge Western oppression of Muslims worldwide.
The bombings on October 12, 2002, killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
The Afghanistan-trained Samudra had once said he would welcome death as bringing him closer to God.
Executions are by firing squad.
But when he was sentenced by a Denpasar court on September 10, defence lawyers said he would appeal because he should have been tried under Islamic law.
Samudra, 33, attended planning meetings, selected the blast targets in Bali and assigned tasks to the bombers as part of a holy war against the United States and its allies.
A third bomber called Mukhlas is also on death row and has also said he will appeal.
A fourth key bomber, Ali Imron, received a life sentence after expressing remorse.
Earlier, Imron gave evidence in the trial of Abdul Ghoni, who could face a firing squad if found guilty of helping plan the attacks, helping to assemble the bombs and possessing explosives.
Imron, 33, revised statements he made in earlier trials.
Ghoni's trial resumes on December 8.
Here's hoping for a group of lousy marksmen... hope it takes a few magazine rounds to finish the job.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.