Muslim militant gets 15 years in jail for Bali bombings

JAKARTA, Sept. 14 Kyodo

An Indonesian court sentenced a Muslim militant to 15 years in jail Thursday for his involvement in last year's bombing attacks on Bali, the latest defendant to be given a verdict in the case.

The Oct. 1 bombing attacks at two open-air cafes on Jimbaran Beach and a restaurant in Kuta Town Square on Kuta Beach killed 20 people and injured 151. Three suicide bombers also died.

Presiding Judge Daniel Palentin said Defendant Anif Solchanudin, alias Pendek bin Suyadi, had offered himself as a suicide bomber after hearing about a ''project in Bali.''

''The defendant was ready to be a suicide bomber, believing that by shedding his blood, the gates of Heaven would open not only for him but also for his 70 family members,'' the judge said.

He was later replaced by another suicide bomber, Mohammad Salik Firdaus, who detonated the bomb attack at R.Aja's Restaurant in Kuta. The reason behind the replacement is unclear.

Solchanudin was arrested by police in November last year in Central Java Province while delivering bombs to fugitive militant Noordin Top.

According to the judicial panel, the father of three children also illegally possessed ammunition at his house in the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang.

Therefore, the judicial panel concluded Solchanudin was aware of the plan of the bombing attacks.

Last week, the court in Denpasar, the Bali provincial capital, sentenced three other militants to between eight and 18 years in jail for their involvement in the attacks, which are believed to have been masterminded by Top and fellow Malaysian Azahari Husin. Azahari was killed in a police raid on his hideout last year.

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