Indonesia: an Islamist leader sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the Bali attacks

Jakarta | An Indonesian court on Wednesday sentenced Zulkarnaen, an Islamist leader linked to al-Qaeda, to 15 years in prison for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people, mostly foreign tourists.

The 58-year-old Indonesian, co-founder of the al-Qaeda-linked Indonesian Islamist organization Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), was accused of planning the Bali bombings as well as other terrorist attacks carried out by a group under his command.

“The defendant was aware” of the planned attack by a team he had formed, underlined the judge of the East Jakarta court, even if he affirmed “not to have been involved in the rest of the process”.

The prosecution pointed out that Zulkarnaen had created a terrorist cell and described him as a key man in the organization because of his experience in extremist training camps in Afghanistan and the Philippines. He had asked for life in prison.

Throughout the trial, Zulkarnaen denied involvement in the Bali bombings, but acknowledged that they were carried out by his team.

He claimed in court that the operatives did not warn him in advance of the attack and that he had not participated in the preparations.

But the judges considered that he bore a significant part of the responsibility.

“The fact that he was the leader of the team and accepted a project in Bali (…) could be considered as a green light” to the attacks of 2002, noted the judge.

Two explosions, which occurred a year after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, caused carnage in bars and nightclubs on the Indonesian island popular with tourists and remain the deadliest terrorist attack in the country of Southeast Asia to date.