Coming this Friday 9
November 2012, it will be the fourth anniversary of the execution of the Bali Bombers in Indonesia. I planned to blog more about Amrozi on how he made me
switched from being a strong opponent to supporter of capital punishment and I
will do it on the same day, he was executed. But before that, I will give some
information about the other two Bali Bombers, but in this post, I blog about
Imam Samudra first, I got the information about him from Wikipedia and several
news sources.
Imam Samudra (also known as Abdul Aziz, Qudama/Kudama,
Fatih/Fat, Abu Umar or Heri) (14 January 1970 in Serang, Banten (then part of
West Java province) – 9 November 2008 in Nusakambangan, Central Java) was an Indonesian convicted for the 2002 Bali
bombing and was executed on 9 November 2008.
On 7 August 2003, he was found guilty for his
role in the Bali bombing and sentenced to death by firing squad. Originally
incarcerated in Denpasar's prison, he was moved to the high-security prison
island of Nusakambangan.
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Imam Samudra faces judges in an Indonesian
court.
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Together with the two other bombers who
received death sentences, he launched a constitutional challenge against the
use of firing squads. Samudra and the two other bombers preferred beheading,
saying that it was a more Islamic form of execution. In October 2008 he
remained unrepentant and claimed revenge would be taken for his death.
During the month, his final appeals were
rejected and the Attorney General's office announced that he would be executed
by firing squad in early November 2008. According to a source in Indonesia's
Attorney General Office, the execution was to be done before the end of Sunday,
9 November 2008. This was reportedly delayed from the original plan to allow a
representative from the family to identify the body post-execution. However, no
representative from Samudra's family were in attendance.
Samudra, along with Amrozi bin Nurhasyim and
Ali Ghufron were shot at 00:15 local time on 9 November 2008. They were
executed by firing squad.
From his cell, he wrote an auto-biography in
Indonesian titled I Fight Terrorists (Aku Melawan Teroris in original), where
the "terrorists" are the Americans. It went on sale for $3, on a run
of 5000 copies. In 2004, CNN described the book as a "bestseller in
Indonesia".
The
trial of Iman Samudra [2003]:
Judge grills
'avenger' Samudra
July
17 2003
By Wayne Miller
Denpasar, Bali
By Wayne Miller
Denpasar, Bali
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Picture: SIMON O'DWYER
Accused Bali bombing mastermind Imam Samudra
stands below chief judge Wayan Sugawa, who holds a pistol used as evidence.
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The alleged field commander of the Bali bombings, who uses his own interpretations of the Koran to justify his militant stance, spent over half an hour trying to justify his actions to a judge, a fellow Muslim.
Citing the Koran, Judge Arif Supratman said: "Allah has never told you to kill."
"That's your interpretation," Samudra said defiantly. "Yes, Allah has, in 80 verses. You can kill humans," he said.
"Don't you think that the bules (Westerners) in Legian are not responsible for killing in Afghanistan?" Judge Supratman said.
"If we don't take revenge against those who slaughter Palestinians, it is wrong," Samudra said. "If they kill civilians like they did in Iraq, it is necessary to also kill civilians," Samudra said.
Samudra sat in a small swivel chair for almost three hours as he was questioned over his past, his beliefs and why he chose Bali as a target for terrorist bombings in October 12 last year, which killed 202 people and injured more than 160.
He confessed he had fought Russian troops in Afghanistan in the 1990s alongside Osama bin Laden.'
Despite telling the court that he was morally responsible for the Bali bombings, Samudra told the judges he did not take part in the bombings.
He had constructed a website claiming responsibility for the attack but he had never posted it on the internet. "It was only a joke and I made it one month after the incident," Samudra told the court.
And although he took part in a reconstruction of his actions with police shortly after his arrest late last year, Samudra denied it was his signature alongside that of his lawyer, on the reconstruction forms,
Chief judge Wayan Sugawa asked Samudra how he would feel, as an Indonesian family man, if his wife and children had been victims of the Bali bombings.
"I personally, as a human, feel sad," Samudra said. "Even if a cat died, I would feel like I have sinned."
"Why didn't you try to stop it in Indonesia? Why didn't you do it in another country, so Indonesians would not be victims?" the judge asked.
"Apart from being an Indonesian citizen, morally I am a Muslim and I feel that Muslim is everything, and everything above everything," Samudra said.
"Do you feel regret?" the judge asked.
"It cannot be said like that. That's black and white. I have the right to talk as a Muslim, who has faith in Islamic beliefs. Clearly, when the Americans try to take over, as Muslims we have an obligation to defend Muslims wherever they are. This is based on my beliefs and the Muslim leaders that are out there," Samudra said.
"Why not go to America?"
"Allah stated 'attack the infidels, wherever they are'. So the Koran has no boundaries on the location but on the orientation; that is what is clear," Samudra said.
Samudra's trial is in its final stages. On July 28 the prosecution will summarise its case, followed shortly afterwards by the defence summation.
Imam Samudra deserves to die, court told
Updated
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Police restrain Samudra in Denpasar court
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Indonesian
prosecutors have asked the judges hearing the Bali bombing trial of key
defendant, Imam Samudra, to sentence him to the firing squad.
"Brutal"
was how prosecutors described Imam Samudra, a man they today told the court was
the field commander for the Bali operation, picking Bali as the target, raising
the finances and recruiting other members of the plot.
After
reading from more than 300 pages of charges compiled during the trial, the
prosecutor said Imam Samudra deserved to die for an act that caused massive
casualties and terrified an entire population.
As Imam
Samudra left the court Australian man, Jan Laczynski waved an Australian flag
and called on the suspect to apologise.
Security
guards told journalists that Imam Samudra responded "Australians are the
terrorists".
Imam
Samudra will have the opportunity to present his defence in two weeks time.
Samudra screams defiance at
death
By
Wayne Miller
Denpasar September 11, 2003
Imam
Samudra, the Islamic militant who masterminded the Bali bombings, yesterday
became the second man condemned to die by firing squad for his part in the
deadly October 12 attack.
Samudra
defiantly punched the air with his right arm and shouted "Allahu
Akbar" (God is great) three times as the death penalty was announced.
A panel
of five judges convicted Samudra of planning, carrying out and financing the
bombings in Legian Road that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.
Although
Samudra has said he wants to die as a martyr, his lawyers said they will appeal
against the verdict.
Lawyer
Qadar Faisal said Samudra's confession had been forcibly obtained.
"There
was no justice in this case. He should not have got the death sentence,"
he said.
Samudra
was also convicted over a church bombing on Batam Island, near Singapore, and
over an armed robbery that raised money for the Bali attack. "Imam Samudra
has been clearly proven to have planned a terrorist act, and we hand down the
sentence of death," Judge Wayan Sugawa told the court in Denpasar.
The
judges said Samudra, 33, was guilty of an "extraordinary" crime
against humanity and had shown no remorse.
As he was
led from the courtroom, Samudra was confronted by a Melbourne man, Jan
Laczynski, carrying an Australian flag bearing photographs of victims. Mr
Laczynski, who lost five friends in the attack, approached Samudra and yelled:
"We're proud to be Australians. Take a look at all the people you killed."
Samudra
screamed back: "Calm down, infidel" and "Go to hell... do you
think I'm afraid?".
Mr
Laczynski, 35, of Essendon, came to Bali specifically to confront Samudra. He
said later he was shaken by the encounter, but glad he had done it. "I
really feel happy that justice has been done. Families back home can take some
comfort."
Samudra
is the second of the Bali bombers to be condemned to die, following the
conviction and sentencing of Amrozi.
Samudra
sat slouched in his chair and stroked his wispy beard as the judges read out
their findings. When one judge made a Christian reference to the Government
being "the slave of God" in dealing with criminals, Samudra sat
defiantly with his fingers in his ears.
During
his trial, Samudra denied having played a leading role in the bombings.
Yesterday the judges emphatically dismissed his submission, and accepted
evidence presented by prosecutors that Samudra commanded the group that carried
out the attacks, selecting recruits and assigning tasks in a series of meetings
leading up to October 12.
"The
defendant is seen as playing a dominant role in the Bali bomb blasts and
therefore the judges declare that the defendant is the intellectual mastermind
behind the Bali bomb explosions," Judge Ifa Sudewi said. "The element
of planning has been legally and convincingly proven.
"The
facts during the trial showed that the defendant had ordered Ali Imron to drive
the L-300 van to the location of the target," she said. The van bomb
exploded outside the Sari Club, seconds after a smaller blast at the nearby
Paddy's Bar.
Muslim
judge Arif Supratman read a passage from the Koran. "We already decided
for them that, many souls were paid for by souls, eyes paid by eyes, nose by
nose, eyes by eyes, tooth by tooth and injured paid by injured." Because
of that, he said, Samudra would pay with his life.
Samudra
is said to have been a leading member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah
terror network.
While not
admitting to JI links during his trial, he has painted himself as a holy war
warrior.
Judge
Sudewi said yesterday Samudra had described the Bali blasts as "revenge...
against the tyranny of America". She said that during this three years of
training as a fighter in Afghanistan, Samudra had met Osama bin Laden.
Outside
court, a lawyer for Samudra indicated he would appeal, saying his confession
was forcibly obtained. "There was no justice in this case," said
Qadar Faisal.
Samudra's
sister, Nunung, told a radio station in Java that she was praying for a miracle
to save her brother. She said her family rejected the court ruling because it
was "engineered by humans and it was not a punishment from God".
Australian
Ross McKeon, who lost his wife Lynette, 46, daughter Marissa, 14, and seven
friends in the bombings, expressed relief after travelling to Denpasar to watch
the trial of Samudra. "He orchestrated, he organised a lot of things, he
manipulated people to carry out the bombing, and I hold him seriously
responsible for it," Mr McKeon said.
In
Melbourne, Lynley Huguenin, who was in Paddy's Bar when the first bomb exploded
and suffered burns to 30 per cent of her body, was happy with the penalty.
"His death sentence means more to me than Amrozi's. He's the evil
mastermind," she said.
Survivor
Dale Atkin, of Hallam, said he thought justice had been done. "He got what
he deserved for killing 202 people."
David
"Spike" Stewart, of Werribee, father of victim Anthony Stewart,
expressed relief. "I just think if he didn't get death, he could escape
from jail one day and do it again."
Gold
Coast university student Jake Ryan, who was injured in the bombings, said:
"I'm pretty happy as long as he was found guilty... I have no qualms if
they shoot him or if they locked him up for life in some rathole.
Foreign
Minister Alexander Downer said the outcome showed the Indonesian Government was
determined to pursue terrorists and terrorism. He said the Australian
Government did not support the death sentence. "But in these particular
circumstances we won't be making any representations against the sentence,"
he said.
- with
Sasha Shtargot, agencies
Judge quotes Koran as Bali mastermind screams defiance
Defiant
to the end, Imam Samudra sat with his fingers in his ears as the five judges
sentencing him to death chastised him and read messages of peace and love.
"Go
to hell," screamed the mastermind of the Bali bombings. "Do you think
I'm afraid?" he cried after yesterday's sentence as he was confronted by a
Melbourne man, Jan Laczynski.
As
Samudra was led from court, Mr Laczynski - who lost five friends in the Sari
Club blast - held up an Australian flag carrying the faces of the 88
Australians killed in the October 12 bombings.
Moments
earlier, as Chief Judge I Wayan Sugawa said "hukuman mati" - death
penalty - Samudra punched the air and shouted "God is great" three
times.
He is the
second of the Bali bombers to be sent to the firing squad. The judges found he
was the field commander of the attacks which killed 202 people and injured 325.
Samudra
will be executed for his involvement in both the Bali bombings and a church
bombing on Batam Island on Christmas Eve 2000. He was also convicted over an
armed robbery to raise funds for the Bali operation.
Mr
Laczynski, 35, of Essendon, confronted the terrorist as he was led away,
flourishing his flag and saying, "I'm proud to be Australian."
Samudra,
wide-eyed, looked at the flag and then yelled at the top of his voice
"Calm down infidel" in Indonesian before shouting that he was not
afraid to die.
"He
wasn't too happy," Mr Laczynski said.
Also in
court was a Central Coast man, Ross McKeon, whose wife, Lynette, 14-year-old
daughter, Marissa, and seven friends died. "He orchestrated, he organised
a lot of things, he manipulated people to carry out the bombing, and I hold him
seriously responsible for it."
The
judges took nearly five hours to read the 333-page verdict, chastising Samudra
repeatedly.
Samudra
had claimed not to have been involved in any meetings to plan the Bali bombings
and said he had no knowledge of the robbery or church attack, but the judges
told him his guilt was "proved legally and confidently by the law".
The
Muslim judge, Arif Supratman, read a passage from the Koran: "We already
decided for them that, many souls were paid for by souls, eyes paid by eyes,
nose by nose, eyes by eyes, tooth by tooth and injured paid by injured."
Because of that, he said, Samudra would pay with his life.
Samudra,
whose real name is Abdul Aziz, has shown no remorse and only contempt for the
non-Muslims killed or injured in Bali. He sees himself as a warrior in a holy
war between Christians and Muslims. He believes he is justified in killing in
retribution for the Muslims who are "slaughtered" by the United
States and its allies, including Australia.
But one
judge said: "Many still understand 'jihad' based on their own taste and
desires. In fact, 'jihad' means proselytising. The jihad done by the accused
was merely because of feelings of hatred to the US and its allies."
The
judges spoke of the tears of witnesses. There was Haji Bambang, who tried to
help victims at the Sari Club but instead had 25 people die in his arms. They
referred to the economic devastation of the attack.
And they
spoke of the inhumane actions of this unrepentant, surly egotist who last month
rejoiced at the Marriott Hotel blast in Jakarta - because Americans died. He
said nothing of the Indonesian victims.
Judge Ifa
Sudewi said the crime towards one soul was a "crime against
humanity".
When
Judge Supratman read a quotation from the Catholic Church, Samudra blocked his
ears.
The
Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, said the conviction and sentence demonstrated
the determination of the Indonesian Government to pursue terrorists "and
we welcome that".
"It's
not, of course, the policy of the Australian Government to support the death
penalty, but in these particular circumstances we won't be making any representations
against the sentence to the Indonesian Government."
Samudra
has seven days to lodge an appeal. His lawyers say he has told them to appeal
because he should have been tried under Islamic law.
In west
Java, Samudra's sister, Nunung, said she hoped for a miracle and that he would
be freed. If not, she hoped he would "die for a holy cause as a mujaheed
[jihad warrior] . . . perhaps it is the best thing for my brother."
Quotes
by Iman Samudra:
Please
see this whole video to hear the interviews from the Bali Bombers:
Please
see this video from 2 minutes 25 seconds to 5 minutes 42 seconds, to hear from
Iman Samudra:
Please
see this video from 44 seconds to 57 seconds, to hear from one of Iman Samudra’s
last words:
Should Imam Samudra be allowed to live? Ask yourself these 4 questions:
1. Can you truly rehabilitate a terrorist?
2. Does life
without parole really mean what it is? Why is Umar Patek only given 20 years
and can be granted parole after 15 years? What if Samudra was only sentenced to
life imprisonment?
3. Some of those
Bali Bombers have either been executed or killed by military action. What use
is it to keep some of them alive?
4. If terrorist do
not fear the death penalty, why did Samudra joined the other 2 Bali Bombers in
appealing against their death sentence?
I feel that it is an act of justice that Imam Samudra paid with his
life, I do not want him to be given a chance not only to re offend again but
also to write another book to influence others to become terrorists like him.
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