Free Republic

Convicted Bali bomber Ali Imron has described how he and another militant used a mobile phone to trigger one of three blasts that rocked the Indonesian resort island of Bali 19 months ago. Imron, who is serving a life sentence, was testifying in the trial of Jhoni Hendrawan, alias Idris, who could face death if convicted under an anti-terrorism law of involvement in the blasts on October 12, 2002, which killed 202 people. Hendrawan, 30, is the last detained Bali bomb suspect to stand trial. He is charged with planning the bombings by attending several meetings along with other suspects...

LESS than one-third of the deadly vehicle bomb outside the Sari Club in Bali actually exploded, a Herald Sun investigation has found. Experts believe none of the 500 people in the Sari Club and Paddy's bar that night would have lived if the bomb had gone off as planned. They said the toll could have been in the thousands. Poor preparation resulted in most of the 1.1 tonne mix of chemicals burning instead of blowing up. But even this bomb – coupled with the smaller Paddy's bar device – was deadly enough to kill 202 people and injure 168. Eighty-eight...

Bali suspect's final defence A key suspect on trial in connection with the Bali nightclub bombings last October has been giving his final defence statement. Ali Imron, the youngest of three brothers charged with the Bali attack, is accused of helping to put together the largest bomb, which exploded in a van outside the Sari nightclub. More than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed in the attack. INDONESIA'S TERROR TRIALS Amrozi Sentenced to death on 7 August Convicted of providing the van and bombs used in the attacks Imam Samudra Sentenced to death on 10 September Convicted of...

An Indonesian court has sentenced Bali bomber Ali Imron to life imprisonment for helping to organise and carry out the deadly bombings last year that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians. The sentence was tougher than the 20 years prosecutors had sought. Ali Imron, who says he learnt the science of war, including bomb-making in Afghanistan in 1991, admitted building the Sari Club bomb and training the two suicide bombers who destroyed the Sari and Paddy's bars. But Ali Imron's admisissons to police clearly set out the details of the Bali plot, and his expressions of remorse, at times made...

BROTHER was pitted against brother in the Bali bombing trials yesterday, and the man who has won infamy as the smiling terrorist did not like what he heard. The seventh day of evidence in the trial of the plot's alleged co-planner Amrozi brought the surprise appearance of his younger sibling Ali Imron – a witness who was happy to detail the devastating attacks on two Kuta nightclubs, but just as keen to minimise his own involvement. Ali Imron, a veteran of five years' combat against the Russians in Afghanistan and as close as police have come to a rollover witness,...

A key suspect in the Bali bombings has said he was sworn in as a member of the Jemaah Islamiah regional terror network in the presence of Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, according to a report today. Ali Imron, 33, also told the Tempo weekly magazine in an interview that orders for some of the Christmas Eve bombings in 2000 came from a key JI operative called Hambali. Indonesian police and regional leaders say Bashir, who is detained on separate terrorism charges, is the spiritual leader of JI. They say they expect to charge him for the Bali bombings which...

THE man thought to have parked the explosive-filled van that destroyed the Sari Club has been arrested with an accomplice in northern Indonesia - and is believed to have confessed to his role in the Bali bombings. Ali Imron, the younger brother of prime suspects Mukhlas and Amrozi, was arrested on Berukang Island, East Kalimantan, on Monday night. He was holed up with a man named Mubarrok and police believe the pair had been trying to flee to Malaysia. Investigation chief Made Mangku Pastika said Ali Imron had "admitted to being connected with the Bali bombings". Australian Federal Police counter-terrorism...