Indonesia paroles the bombmaker in Bali's deadly 2002 attacks

[SalimBhai]

Indonesia has released on parole Umar Patek, a bomb maker in the deadly 2002 Bali attacks, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights said on Wednesday.

Patek, a member of the al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, was jailed for 20 years in 2012 after he was found guilty of mixing bombs that ripped through two Bali nightclubs, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians.

After his release on Wednesday, Patek is required to join a “mentoring program” until April 2030, according to the ministry statement. If any violation is discovered during that time, his parole will be revoked, the ministry added.

In August, Indonesia’s government said that Patek was eligible for parole after his sentence was reduced, a decision that sparked criticism from the victims’ families. His scheduled release was delayed after uproar from Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also criticized the announcement at the time, saying he planned to raise the issue with Indonesia.

Patek, who was also convicted for his role in deadly church bombings in 2000, was granted a series of small reductions to his sentence as part of remissions regularly given to inmates to mark Indonesia’s August 17 independence day.

On Thursday, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said it would be a “difficult day” for Australians who lost loved ones and relatives in the attacks.

“I think this going to be a very difficult day for many Australians – all Australians – to hear about the release of Umar Patek,” Marles told ABC radio. “I’m particularly thinking right now of the families of those who were killed and injured in the Bali bombings.”

Marles added that the Australian government would continue to engage Indonesian authorities about ensuring Patek was under constant surveillance.

Many members of the Jemaah Islamiyah group, like Patek, trained and fought in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the early 1990s and were deeply influenced by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s teachings.

Patek eluded investigators looking into the 2002 attacks for many years until his capture in January 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan, the same village where US Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden several months later.

Patek was then extradited to Indonesia, where he was sentenced in 2012.

Three of the masterminds of the Bali bombings – Imam Samudra, Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and Ali Ghufron – were executed in 2008. Patek was the last of the accused to stand trial in Indonesia.

 

[MenInG]

After the deadly bombings on two Bali nightclubs in 2002, some survivors say they got a "life sentence".

"My life changed forever," Andrew Csabi told the BBC.

On Wednesday, the man who crafted the bombs that killed Mr Csabi's friends and left him a double amputee was freed from an Indonesian prison.

Indonesia says Umar Patek has been deradicalised, but his parole has sparked anger - particularly in Australia, where 88 victims were from.

Some 202 people from 21 nations were killed in the blasts on 12 October that year. It remains Indonesia's deadliest terror attack.

Patek was accused of being a bombmaker for Jemaah Islamiah (JI) - a group inspired by al-Qaeda - and spent almost a decade on the run.

He was jailed for 20 years in 2012, serving just over half of his initial sentence.

Indonesian authorities say he no longer poses a threat and is eligible for release after a series of sentence reductions for good behaviour.

Jan Laczynski, an Australian who lost five friends in the bombings, said he was among those shocked and angry.

"This guy gets his life back again. For a lot of us we'll never get our lives back again," he told the BBC on Thursday.

"It's appalling. It's dreadful. It's wrong."

He described it as "another kick in the guts" after last year's release of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir - the alleged mastermind of the attacks - who had served a sentence unrelated to the bombings.

Mr Csabi, who's also Australian, said the decision has also sparked fear. "You like to feel safe - we all do - and now I don't feel as safe as I was.

"If they've still got views of hatred, then there is a great possibility that they could incite another bombing."

Few survivors believe claims Patek is reformed, Mr Laczynski said.

"I've seen him in jail, I've seen him close up. He didn't seem deradicalised to me.... I don't buy that at all."

The Australian government lobbied against Patek's release and says it will press Indonesian authorities to promise constant surveillance of him.

Australians had "every right to be disappointed and concerned by this news", minister Chris Bowen said on Thursday.

Patek's release is particularly hurtful because of its timing, both Mr Csabi and Mr Laczynski say. It is just weeks after the 20th anniversary of the bombing and days out from Christmas.

Patek is required to join a "mentoring programme" until April 2030 and if any violation is discovered his parole will be revoked, a statement from the Indonesian ministry of law and human rights said.

 

[JaDed]

I think Indonesia is hell bent on destroying Bali tourism could be due to religion or something .. could be something internal..

 

[rickroll]

This is a pretty bad decision and makes us wonder what is going on internally in Indonesia these days.

 

[Champ_Pal]

I think Indonesia is hell bent on destroying Bali tourism could be due to religion or something .. could be something internal..

Bali is Hindu Island. They will not be safe.

 

[SalimBhai]

There is a great book by V.S Naipaul ,Among the Believers. It touches on Indonesia in it. Very interesting read

 

[Sidilicious]

Is Indonesia moving from a very tolerant society to an intolerant one?

Some of its actions in the last few days seem to indicate so.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Indonesia taking a very strange turn lately.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Southeast Asia armed group Jemaah Islamiyah to disband: Report​

Senior members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian armed group blamed for the deadly Bali bombings, announced they’re disbanding.

A report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) on Thursday confirmed the authenticity of a June 30 video statement by 16 Jemaah Islamiyah leaders announcing its dissolvement.

In the statement, captured on video and shared online, the leaders confirmed their commitment to the Indonesian state and law, and said all material taught in affiliated boarding schools would be in line with orthodox Islam.

“It is too early to say what the consequences are, but the men who signed the statement have enough respect and credibility within the organisation to ensure widespread acceptance,” said Sidney Jones, who authored IPAC’s preliminary analysis.

The al-Qaeda-linked group is accused of orchestrating some of the deadliest attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 bombing of Bali nightclubs that killed more than 200 people.

Indonesia’s National Counter Terrorism Agency declined to comment but said it planned to hold a news conference soon.

The decision to disband the organisation, said Jones, was likely driven by several factors including the influence of intellectuals within Jemaah Islamiyah who are less interested in violence, and a cost-benefit analysis on the best way to protect the group’s biggest assets – its schools.

Intensive engagement with counterterrorism officials also played a role, the report said.

Despite the clout of the figures involved, IPAC noted the group has a history of splinters and it is possible one could emerge in the future, although probably not immediately.

“For the moment, the likely result is the flourishing of JI-affiliated schools and the increasing involvement in public life of the men who signed the 30 June statement,” said IPAC. “What happens to the rest of the membership remains to be seen.”

Southeast Asia armed group Jemaah Islamiyah to disband: Report

Al-Qaeda-linked group orchestrated some of the deadliest attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombings.

www.aljazeera.com