Stark
11-08-2008, 06:31 PM
3 Bali Bombers were executed today
By Zachary Abuza
The three Bali bombers, Imam Samudra, and Mukhlas were executed today by firing squad. To their last day, they were unrepentant, showed no remorse for the bombings that killed 202 people, and expressed their desire to be martyrs.
Sentenced in 2003, the three convicted bombers appealed their verdict multiple times. The government had been criticized for lacking the political will to execute the three. Three Christians who were sentenced to death for their role in sectarian bloodletting in Sulawesi, in mid 2006 were executed almost immediately after their sentence, and given few chances for an appeal. Yesterday lawyers for the three condemned Bali bombers went to the Indonesian parliament to file a clemency appeal. A previous clemency request had been rejected by President Yudhoyono.
Indonesian authorities plan to fly the bodies back to their respective villages so as to prevent a motorcade that could bring out militants. The funeral arrangements have been made by Said Sungkar, the younger brother of the group's founder Abdullah Sungkar. It is reported that JI's other founder, the fiery cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, will give the sermon at the funeral. Already supporters of JI (which is not outlawed in Indonesia) as well as other militant groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), have arrived en masse to Amrozi and Mukhlas' village.
Ba'asyir and other militants have threatened revenge on the Indonesian state, though it is unclear whether they have the means. JI's last attack was a bombing in October 2005. That November its top bomb-maker Dr. Azahari bin Husin, was killed in a shootout with police and his cache of explosives seized. In March to June 2007 several top JI leaders were arrested and an enormous cache of explosives was captured. This summer another plot was thwarted, with members being arrested and bomb-making materials seized. Even under a dragnet, JI still has some capability to plan attacks.
If Ba'asyir is not able to mobilize militants he will really lose much of his credibility.
JI's loss of Mukhlas is important for one key reason: he was the group's leading theologian.
By Zachary Abuza
The three Bali bombers, Imam Samudra, and Mukhlas were executed today by firing squad. To their last day, they were unrepentant, showed no remorse for the bombings that killed 202 people, and expressed their desire to be martyrs.
Sentenced in 2003, the three convicted bombers appealed their verdict multiple times. The government had been criticized for lacking the political will to execute the three. Three Christians who were sentenced to death for their role in sectarian bloodletting in Sulawesi, in mid 2006 were executed almost immediately after their sentence, and given few chances for an appeal. Yesterday lawyers for the three condemned Bali bombers went to the Indonesian parliament to file a clemency appeal. A previous clemency request had been rejected by President Yudhoyono.
Indonesian authorities plan to fly the bodies back to their respective villages so as to prevent a motorcade that could bring out militants. The funeral arrangements have been made by Said Sungkar, the younger brother of the group's founder Abdullah Sungkar. It is reported that JI's other founder, the fiery cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir, will give the sermon at the funeral. Already supporters of JI (which is not outlawed in Indonesia) as well as other militant groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), have arrived en masse to Amrozi and Mukhlas' village.
Ba'asyir and other militants have threatened revenge on the Indonesian state, though it is unclear whether they have the means. JI's last attack was a bombing in October 2005. That November its top bomb-maker Dr. Azahari bin Husin, was killed in a shootout with police and his cache of explosives seized. In March to June 2007 several top JI leaders were arrested and an enormous cache of explosives was captured. This summer another plot was thwarted, with members being arrested and bomb-making materials seized. Even under a dragnet, JI still has some capability to plan attacks.
If Ba'asyir is not able to mobilize militants he will really lose much of his credibility.
JI's loss of Mukhlas is important for one key reason: he was the group's leading theologian.