Monday, July 21, 2008

Indonesia: Bali bombers 'to die by Ramadan'

Indonesia: Bali bombers 'to die by Ramadan' July 21, 2008: The men have lost several appeals against their 2003 death sentences. Indonesia says it hopes to execute three militants for their part in the 2002 Bali bombings by September. Indonesian Attorney-General Hendarman Supandji said the men had exhausted all possibilities of appeal and should be executed before Ramadan. Amrozi, Mukhlas (alias Ali Ghufron), and Imam Samudra were found guilty five years ago of killing 202 people at a resort in Bali in 2002. They lost their final appeal last week, and say they will not seek a pardon. More than 30 people have been jailed for the attack, which was blamed on the South East Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiah. "My hope is that it [the executions] could be done before the fasting month, but if it falls in the fasting month, we will discuss it more specifically," Hendarman Supandji told reporters, according to Reuters news agency. "The problem is a person that wants to conduct his religious rituals. Can an execution be done while someone is conducting a religious ritual?" he asked. The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in early September this year.

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