Bali bombers make last appeal against death sentences

Three Muslim militants made last-ditch attempts today to overturn their death sentences for the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, arguing the verdicts were against the constitution.

Prosecutors insisted the appeals to the Supreme Court, known as a judicial review, were inadmissible because the militants already filed the same petitions last year, which were rejected by judges.

A judicial review is the final level of appeal in Indonesia and generally requires that new evidence be submitted.

Indonesian terrorists with links to al-Qaida carried out the 2002 nightclub bombings on the resort island. The attacks killed 202 people, most of them foreign tourists, and thrust the mostly-Muslim country into the front lines of the war on terror.

The three death row militants – Imam Samudra, Amrozi, and his elder brother Ali Gufron – are among about 30 people sentenced for the attacks. All three have admitted taking part and have shown no remorse.

Lawyer Fahmi Bachmid said their convictions were illegal because they were based on anti-terror laws passed after the attack. Indonesia’s constitution does not allow laws to be applied retroactively.

Prosecutors called on judges to throw out the appeals.

“This action to submit another appeal is a just a tricky way to delay the punishment,” said Olopan Nainggolan.

“They already made a request in 2006 and according to our country’s legal procedure only one appeal can be submitted.”

Bacmid did not say if he had any new evidence to present to the court. The men’s last appeals were also based on the retroactivity principle. Nevertheless, he said, he had the right to file the second petitions.

The appeals were lodged at a court in Bali, which will then submit it to the Supreme Court for consideration. A ruling could be several months away.

The three militants are said to be members of Jemaah Islamiyah, a militant network whose operatives have been blamed for several other attacks in Indonesia in recent years, including a second set of strikes on Bali in 2005 that killed 11.