(27 Feb 2012) On February 27th 2012 the trial of the Bali bombing suspect, who is accused of making the bombs that were used in the 2002 Bali nightclub attacks, recommenced in Jakarta.
During the previous week, Umar Patek's defence lawyers told the prosecution that the charges against him are obscure and should be dropped.
They also said Indonesia's tough anti-terrorism law can't be applied retroactively and that the 45-year-old Patek, known as "Demolition Man" for his expertise with explosives, didn't take part in pre-planning meetings and was not guilty of premeditated murder.
He was one of the last few ranking militants with the al-Qaida-linked regional network Jemaah Islamiyah still on the run when he was arrested a year ago in Pakistan.
Intelligence agents found him in Abbottabad, the same northwestern town where Osama bin Laden was killed several months later.
Patek faces a maximum penalty of death by firing squad if convicted of various terror-related and criminal charges, most of which are tied to the Bali bombings that left 202 people dead, including 88 Australians and seven Americans.
It was the deadliest terror strike in Asia.
His lawyers state that while Patek has admitted assembling the explosives, he did so at the request of one of the Bali bombing masterminds, Imam Samudra, who was executed in 2008.
Patek had no way of knowing how they would be used, his lawyers allege.
The prosecution alleges that Patek helped assemble detonating cords and boosters for the bombs as well as the suicide vests strapped to the militants, who walked into two nightclubs throbbing on a busy Saturday night.
They said Patek left Bali on October 11th 2002 - one day before the blasts.
Prosecutors have also accused him of helping teach militants how to use assault rifles for a terrorist training camp that was uncovered in Aceh province in early 2010.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
