Indonesians applaud smiling bomber's death sentence
( 2003-08-08 13:31) (Agencies)
Indonesians on Friday lauded the death sentence on smiling bomber Amrozi for the Bali blasts and one of the country's most prominent Muslim leaders said convicted "terrorists" should have their punishment meted out immediately.
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| Indonesian Muslim militant Amrozi reacts in a Denpasar courtroom August 7, 2003 after receiving the death penalty for his role in the last October's Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreigners. A panel of judges handed down the sentence two days after a powerful bomb ripped through a five-star hotel in Jakarta killing 14 people and injuring 152 others. [Reuters] |
On the streets of Jakarta and Bali, some said the firing squad was too good for Amrozi, the first of 38 Muslim militants arrested over the October 2002 attacks that killed 202 people.
Amien Rais, a top presidential contender for next year's elections and a key Muslim leader, said those convicted of terror crimes should not be allowed to appeal and that separate courts should handle such crimes to speed up the process.
"I say with all seriousness that every terrorist who is proven to have carried out crimes against humanity immediately be given the punishment they deserve. That is better than a prolonged legal process," Rais told reporters late on Thursday.
An aide explained that the politician believed that if evidence was strong at the first trial then sentencing on those convicted as terrorists should be implemented without delay.
Choirul, a cigarette seller on a Jakarta street, reflected the horror at the attacks expressed by many moderate faithful in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
"Many victims of Bali died slowly, Amrozi should die slowly as well, rather than being shot. He should be cut to pieces," he said.
Nearly half those killed in Bali were Australians.
The verdict came just two days after a car bomb killed 10 people at a luxury hotel in Jakarta and coincided with concern that a shadowy Southeast Asian network linked to al Qaeda -- Jemaah Islamiah -- might be plotting further strikes.
Lawyers for Amrozi, 40, have said they would appeal.
After the sentence was announced, Amrozi swiveled his chair to the courtroom to face victims of those killed, smiled broadly and made a thumbs-up sign with both hands.
That picture was plastered across newspapers on Friday.
The English-language Jakarta Post described the ruling as "a new milestone in the country's history of jurisprudence."
It said the verdict was important for the world's most populous Muslim nation, coming so soon after the Marriott attack.
"Indonesians will understand the extreme verdict that was passed by the court. It is obvious that the government, including the judicial authorities, cannot bow to such threats," it said.
But the leading Tempo newspaper warned that repressive action might not succeed in the war on terror.
"Amrozi's two thumbs up shows we will never run out of militant people who are willing to become martyrs," it said in an editorial.
In Bali, three Australian men from Darwin, dressed in singlets, shorts and flipflops gazed at the fence outside a mound of gravel and weeds that used to be the popular Sari club, which took the brunt of a huge car bomb attack last October.
Asked how they felt when Amrozi gave the thumbs up, one of them, Tony Challen, said: "He's an arrogant bastard. He's a dog and should be treated like one. Shooting is too quick."
Sitting on a rattan mat on Bali's famous Kuta beach drinking tea, Made Putra Yasa, said he felt relieved.
"I feel happy becaused he must die. If he lives he will make more bombs," said the 22-year-old waiter.
Amrozi was the first of three dozen suspects to be tried for the world's worst terror act since the September 2001 attacks. He admitted bringing a minivan to Bali so it could be turned into a huge car bomb.
Like other accused Bali bombers, Amrozi came under the sway of the teachings of Abu Bakar Bashir, alleged head of Jemaah Islamiah. Police have linked Bashir to the Bali blasts but not named him as a suspect. The cleric has denied wrongdoing.
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