Three Bali terrorists to be executed on 22 August

The authorities have set the execution date, awaited for three years. The lawyers for the defence have announced that they will "soon" appeal to the Supreme Court: this is the last hope of obtaining a delay of the execution by firing squad.  

Jakarta (AsiaNews) – The three Islamic terrorists condemned to death for the Bali bombings in 2002 will be executed on 22 August in Nusakambangan prison in Cilacap, central Java province. The news, announced by the Bali attorney-general, was confirmed yesterday by the Office of the Attorney-General in Jakarta (AGO).

"The execution has been confirmed," said a spokesman for AGO. "The date will be changed only if the lawyers or the families of the three men call for a judicial review of the case." The three convicts, Amrozi, Samudra and Muhklas, could also ask for a presidential pardon. So far, only Amrozi has refused to do so, saying this would mean "surrendering to human law". Amrozi and the others have repeated several times over that they want to be judged only God's law.

In early July, the lawyers of the other two Islamic militants had announced their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court to reopen the case. Today, they said the call for a judicial review would be presented "soon".

In 2003, the district Court of Denpasar handed down the death penalty to Amrozi and Imam Samudra. They were involved in the attacks on the famous island that cost 202 people – mostly foreign tourists – their lives.  Muhklas was sentenced together with them for the same crime. The three men were judged under anti-terrorism laws passed in the country after the 2002 bombings. Until then, Indonesia's laws did not apply retroactively and the lawyers for the defence said they would use this information to call for a judicial review.

Indonesian law stipulates that the time of the execution cannot be revealed until after the sentence is carried out. The families of the three men have already been notified about the execution by an official letter for the Attorney General of Bali.

• indonesia
• TERRORISTS
• BALI
• BOMBS
• 2002
• EXECUTION
• CAPITAL
• firing
• squad