Bali bomb planner gets life

2004-01-29 13:51

Indonesia - A Muslim militant was convicted and sentenced on Thursday to life imprisonment for helping plan the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people.

Sarjio, also known as Sawad, was found guilty of helping organise planning meetings and preparing the explosives used in the attacks on October 12, 2002, said Judge Arif Supratman.

"The defendant has shown no remorse. The chemicals that he prepared were used to build the bomb that killed hundreds of people and devastated Bali," Supratman said.

The defendant had faced a possible death sentence but was given life imprisonment because he was not directly involved in the attack itself, the judge said.

Sawad, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told the court he would appeal the verdict.

He is the 30th defendant to have been convicted in the case. Three men were sentenced to death. Other sentences ranged from three years to life behind bars.

The Bali blasts - the deadliest terrorist attack since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States - catapulted Indonesia into the front lines of the international war on terror and severely damaged Bali's tourism-dependent economy.

Authorities have blamed the al-Qaeda-linked militant network known as Jemaah Islamiyah for the attack, as well as the August 5 bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in which 12 people died.

- AP