No subject

25jun03

An Indonesian court today fined the wife of the alleged Bali bombing chief for 
immigration violations, a report said.

A district court at Klaten in Central Java fined Paridah Binti Abbas, 32, the 
wife of Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, six million rupiah ($1100), the Detikcom 
online news service reported.

Judges ruled that Abbas, a Malaysian, had violated Indonesia's immigration 
laws. It said she entered Indonesia accompanied by her five children on May 7, 
2002 with a visa valid for 60 days, Detikcom reported.

Court officials could not be reached for confirmation.

Mukhlas is charged with overall responsibility for the attacks on two crowded 
nightspots last October which killed 202 people from 21 countries. 

Police say he is operations chief of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) regional terror 
network which ordered the attack on Western holidaymakers to avenge perceived 
injustices against Muslims worldwide.

Mukhlas was already in the country and authorities only learned after his 
arrest in December 2002 that his wife's visa had expired, the report said.

Abbas faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison, but prosecutor Tri 
Karyono had asked for one year, Detikcom reported.

In fining her with a six-month prison term in lieu of payment, the judges said 
this was her first offence and she must now raise all her children alone 
including a newborn named Osama, Detikcom reported.

Mukhlas named his sixth child in honor of Osama bin Laden who leads the al-
Qaeda terror network. He could face the death sentence if convicted. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Australian
Mukhlas silent on Samudra
By Sian Powell, Bali and AAP
June 26, 2003

Key Bali bombing suspect Ali Ghufron refused to testify yesterday against 
alleged field commander Imam Samudra.

Asked why, Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, said he chose to take the "easy path" and 
not testify. "I am not prepared to take the oath," said the alleged operations 
commander for last October's attacks.

Prosecutors eventually read out Mukhlas's police statement, in which he said 
Samudra came up with the idea for the bombings, and detailed a "Bali jihad" 
meeting in the Javanese city of Solo last August with Samudra, Amrozi and 
alleged bomb-maker Dulmatin.

Mukhlas has tried to claim that the statement – which he had signed as an 
accurate record – was void. He refused on June 11 to testify against his 
younger brother and co-accused, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, saying it could cause 
conflict in his family.

As Mukhlas and Samudra left the court, they chanted together in Arabic, saying 
there would be a "war of the cross", while railing against Jews and Americans.

The sight of Mukhlas in the court in Denpasar was almost too much for 
Australian Louie Zervos, who lost a sister and two cousins in the blasts.

"I didn't know how long I was going to stay," Mr Zervos said. "I honestly 
wanted to do a lot of damage.

"But some sense came back to me and I thought about my children."

Prosecutors called nine witnesses, including two women who rented accommodation 
to Samudra in Denpasar, a now detained driver who claimed he last saw him on 
October 12 and a woman who ran a cafe where several of the Bali bombers dined.

Samudra left certain incriminating items behind, including a plastic filing 
cabinet. It has been alleged the Sari club explosives were packed in such a 
cabinet.

Ni Luh Suandari said Samudra, who told her he worked as a guide, rented a room 
in her boarding house for a month. She last saw him on October 12 – the day of 
the bombings – when he left the house about 10pm. She said when she asked where 
he was headed, he answered that he was going out to "find a breeze".

Winarih, who owned a cafe in front of the boarding house, told the court 
Samudra had often dined there, once in the company of 11 others. Maksur Abdul 
Kadir, under arrest for his alleged role in the Bali bombings, said he found 
the room for Samudra, whom he knew as Sutomo.

Indonesian prosecutors asked the judges earlier yesterday to continue with 
Mukhlas's trial – each case in the Bali prosecutions is being run separately – 
despite his claims that police extracted false evidence from him under torture. 
Lead prosecutor Banjar Nahor told the court Mukhlas had earlier agreed to his 
statement. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daily Telegraph
Muklas torture claims rejected 
By Catharine Munro in Denpasar
25jun03

Indonesian prosecutors today rejected claims of police torture made by the 
alleged chief of the Bali bombers, Muklas.

The al-Qaeda-trained Muslim cleric told the court in unsworn testimony on 
Monday that he wanted to withdraw information he gave to police about his role 
in the October 12 attack because he had been tortured into giving it. 

Muklas is facing several charges carrying the death penalty for planning, 
financing, inciting and carrying out the bombings on Legian Street, Kuta, which 
killed 202 people including 88 Australians. 

The 43-year-old is believed to be the operational chief of the secretive 
terrorist network Jemaah Islamiah (JI), replacing South-East Asia's most wanted 
man, the Indonesian national Hambali. 

Muklas claimed he had been tortured several times into incriminating Abu Bakar 
Bashir, a 64-year-old cleric who is denying treason charges in a Jakarta court 
that he is the spiritual leader of the JI network. 

He said that on various occasions in the middle of the night, he had been taken 
from police headquarters in Bali to an unknown location where he was kicked in 
the head, stripped naked, had his scrotum hit with a baton and had scalding 
water poured on his scalp. 

Muklas told the court he and other key suspects in the bombing had been forced 
to sign statements that he had a key planning role in the bombing. 

He provided no independent verification of his torture claims. 

Prosecutors today said the allegation of torture should be rejected because 
Muklas had already signed a statement in the presence of his lawyers that the 
information he gave to police was true. 

"The defendant said he withdrew all his statements in a dossier made by Bali 
police headquarters because the defendant was traumatised by the torture he 
suffered outside police headquarters," Prosecutor Banjar Nahor told the court. 

"The investigation done by police headquarters has fulfilled the requirements 
of the criminal code that state that when the dossier was made, the defendant 
said all his statements were true and the defendant didn't feel forced, pressed 
or influenced by others." 

Prosecutors also called on the panel of five judges to reject objections by 
Muklas's defence team that the charges are unconstitutional and illegal. 

The objections echoed similar pleas made in the Bali bombing trials of Muklas's 
brother and co-accused Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, and the alleged field commander of 
the attack, Imam Samudra. 

In both other cases, judges rejected the defence appeals. 

Muklas's case was adjourned until next Monday when judges must rule on whether 
the case can proceed. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Daily Telegraph
US travel warning for E Timor