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| Bali bomber sentenced to death |
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| Date : 07-08-2003 12:44 Source : bbc news |
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Amrozi bin Nurhasyim was accused of conspiring, planning and carrying out an act of terrorism, which killed more than 200 people.
He smiled when the guilty verdict was read out and turned around to the courtroom and gave the thumbs-up sign when the judge handed down the death sentence.
Chief judge I Made Karna said: "Amrozi has been legally and convincingly proven guilty of terrorism. We hereby hand down the death sentence.
The BBC's Rachel Harvey, who was in court, said the judge announced his verdict in a strong, clear voice.
But his final words were almost drowned out by cheers and applause from the relatives and survivors of the Bali bombings who have waited for this moment for months, our correspondent says.
Amrozi faces death by firing squad, but it could be some time before the sentence is carried out.
Amrozi's lawyer, Wirawan Adnan, said: "We are going to appeal first thing tomorrow morning".
He said Amrozi was sorry for the deaths of those people who were not targets.
"He doesn't have anything personal against the Australians, for instance. The targets were the Americans and the Jews."
The Australian Prime Minister John Howard welcomed the guilty verdict and said his government would not appeal for Indonesia to commute the death sentence.
"Most of all I hope that this verdict provides some sense of comfort to those who lost their loved ones in this tragedy and that they feel in some way that justice has been done," Mr Howard said.
Police said Amrozi, one of three brothers arrested in connection with the Bali operation, had admitted buying the explosives and the minivan used in last October's blast.
But the 41-year-old mechanic has denied that the attack was the work of the regional militant Muslim group, Jemaah Islamiah (JI), which has been linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
Five judges heard from more than 40 witnesses during Amrozi's trial, including survivors of the attack.
The Australian press nicknamed him the "smiling bomber" after he appeared laughing before television crews following his arrest last year.
'Happy to die'
The other key suspects in the case are on trial separately.
During his trial, which began in May, Amrozi said the Bali bombings had "positive aspects" because they encouraged people to re-embrace religion and weakened the corrupting influence of foreign tourists.
Amrozi has said he is not worried at the prospect of a possible death sentence.
"I'll be happy to die a martyr," he said recently. "After me there will be a million more Amrozis."
The two bombs, which ripped through a busy nightclub area in the island's popular Kuta district on 12 October last year, killed mostly foreign tourists.
Australia suffered the greatest number of casualties, with 88 Australian nationals losing their lives.
Thirty-eight Indonesians, 23 Britons, nine Swedes, seven Americans, six Germans and four Dutch nationals were also killed.
In all, citizens from 21 countries died in the blasts.
Indonesian police suspect JI was behind the Bali bombs as well as Tuesday's attack on the Marriott Hotel.
A car bomb outside the hotel in Jakarta killed 14 people and injured 150 others.
They said documents found in the possession of JI members arrested last month indicated an attack in the area around the hotel was imminent and police patrols were stepped up.
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