Bali bombers' commander goes on trial

The self-proclaimed military commander of the south-east Asian terror network behind the Bali bombings faced a possible death penalty as his trial opened in the Indonesian capital today.

Police say Abu Dujana, who was arrested in June for illegal possession of explosives and firearms, led the armed branch of Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a series of deadly attacks in Indonesia – the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Dujana, 37, received military training in the southern Philippines from 1999 to 2000 and harboured Malaysian fugitive Noordin Top, wanted for alleged involvement the series of bomb attacks, a state lawyer said.

“The defendant and his friends conspired to commit criminal terrorist activities from 2004-2007,” said prosecutor Payaman, who like many Indonesian goes by a single name. They “possessed, delivered and ordered deliveries of ammunition and explosives to carry out terrorist attacks”.

Dujana has not been charged over the Bali bombings. He is accused of stockpiling weapons in the eastern Indonesian town of Poso, where in recent years Islamic militants have launched a series of bloody attacks on Christians and government workers.

Among the strikes attributed to Jemaah Islamiyah and affiliate groups are the 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists; the 2003 and 2004 attacks on the JW Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta; and the 2005 triple suicide bombings on restaurants in Bali.

More than 240 people died in the bombings, some of which police say were carried out with the backing of al-Qaida. Jemaah Islamiyah is believed to have suffered a severe setback by the arrest of hundreds of militants across Indonesia since the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Before today’s proceedings in Jakarta, Dujana said the group’s goal of “defending the Muslim people and Islam” had not changed.

Dujana, who wore a white robe and black cap, spoke to The Associated Press while sitting in a holding cell at the South Jakarta District Court, surrounded by dozens of security guards.

“There are other people outside jail running the operation,” Dujana said. “It is up to them to decide if they want to continue or not.”