Man jailed for bankrolling Jakarta bombing

The first suspect to face charges in the 2004 bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta was sentenced to three and a half years in prison today for assisting the attack’s perpetrators.

Supporters of Irun Hidayat shouted “God is great” when judges read out their verdict in the South Jakarta District Court.

Hidayat was cleared of the most serious charge: helping plan the September 2004 attack that killed 10 people and wounded more than 200. If found guilty of that charge, he could have faced the death penalty.

Judges said that charge could not be proved. But they found him guilty of the lesser charge of “assisting in a terrorist action” by lending money to the perpetrators and handed him a prison sentence.

Jemaah Islamiyah, which allegedly has cells in several south-east Asian countries, has been blamed for a string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia in recent years.

They include the embassy attack, the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, and a 2003 blast at Jakarta’s Marriott hotel that killed 12.

Police are preparing charges against five other people arrested in the embassy blast.

Two other militants – Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin Mohamed Top - are still wanted in the attack. The pair, who are alleged to be key Jemaah Islamiyah leaders, are also wanted in the Bali and Marriott attacks.