Mukhlas sentenced to death for Bali bombings

(2 Oct 2003) SHOTLIST

1. Various of police outside courthouse
2. Defendant Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, arriving at court
3. Mukhlas being led into court
4. Mukhlas shouting religous slogans
5. Various of onlookers in courtroom
6. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia - PARAPHRASED) Judge Cokorda Rai Suamba (reading verdict)
"We find the defendant Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, alias Somat, guilty of planning a terrorist act and illegal ownership of firearms and ammunition. We sentence him to the death penalty."
7. Mukhlas stands up and walks over to speak to his lawyers, then returns to his seat
8. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia - PARAPHRASED) Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas:
"Because in my opinion the law in this case goes against my beliefs, therefore I will appeal."
9. Judge bangs gavel, Mukhlas punches the air defiantly and is escorted out of courtroom
10. Mukhlas being driven away
11. Cutaway of Mukhlas' Defence Lawyer, Ahmed Michdan
12. SOUNDBITE (Bhasa): Defence Lawyer, Ahmed Michdan:
"We are afraid that if the mastermind of the attack cannot be identified, these heavy punishments will produce more attacks."
13.Cutaway of Australian tourist Jan Laczynski
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Jan Laczynski, Friend of victims:
"It is my favourite place and like I said I really came here to remember their memories, also to see justice done. It's not often you see Australians asking for a penalty of death, but when you think about this crime, it's the worst crime since September 11 and it fits the punishment."
15. Cutaway of Major-General I. Made Pastika, Bali chief of police
16. Cutaway of journalists
17. SOUNDBITE (Bahasa Indonesia): Major-General I. Made Pastika, Bali chief of police:
(commenting on report in Singapore "Straits Times" paper quoted unidentified Indonesian intelligence officials as saying 12 Jemaah Islamiah militants planned to launch attacks on international hotels and expatriate homes.)
"Don't let the threat stop our daily lives. By not being terrorised, we can fight the terrorists."
18. Various cutaway of journalists

STORYLINE:

A top organiser of last year's deadly nightclub attacks on Indonesia's Bali island has been sentenced to death by firing squad for carrying out the bombings.

Ali Ghufron, alias Mukhlas, was "proven guilty of planning a terrorist action...and we the judges sentence him to death," Judge Cokorda Rai Suamba said at the court house in Denpasar, Bali, on Thursday.

Death sentences in Indonesia are rare, but are allowed under a new anti-terror law adopted in the wake of the Bali attack.

They are carried out by a firing squad of 15 paramilitary policemen.

Ghufron reacted calmly to the ruling and told the judges that he would appeal, saying the verdict was "not in line with Islamic teachings".

Ghufron is the third defendant in the case to be sentenced to death for the October 12 attack that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Sixteen others have received prison terms ranging from seven years to life.

Ghufron is the last of four lead suspects to be tried in connection with the near-simultaneous bombings of two nightclubs and the US consulate that shattered the peace in one of the world's premier tourist islands.

During the trial, Ghufron admitted to having been the operations chief of Jemaah Islamiyah - the al-Qaida-linked extremist group accused in the Bali bombings.

He also admitted to traveling to Afghanistan in the 1980s and fighting alongside Osama bin Laden.

Two of the militants, including Ghufron's brother Amrozi bin Nurhasyim, have already been sentenced to death and a third to life behind bars.










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