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Jakarta hotel bombs trial begins | Jakarta hotel bombs trial begins |
(about 8 hours later) | |
The trial has begun of a man alleged to have assisted in the twin suicide hotel bomb attacks in Jakarta in July 2009 that killed seven people. | |
Amir Abdillah, 34, is charged under anti-terror laws of concealing information and harbouring terrorists. | |
Prosecutors said he had been the driver for alleged terrorist Noordin Top, who was shot by police in a September raid on a central Java village. | |
The hotel bombings ended a four-year lull in terrorism in Indonesia. | The hotel bombings ended a four-year lull in terrorism in Indonesia. |
The July attacks at the JW Marriott and Ritz Carlton hotels also injured more than 50 people. | |
Mr Abdillah, who appeared in South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, was arrested a month after the attacks as the first suspect in the case. | |
If convicted, he could be sentenced to death. | If convicted, he could be sentenced to death. |
I heard two sounds like 'boom, boom' coming from the Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton - then I saw people running out Eko Susanto, security guard class="" href="/2/hi/asia-pacific/8155097.stm">In pictures: Jakarta hotel blasts class="" href="/2/hi/asia-pacific/8155169.stm">Eyewitnesses: Jakarta attacks class="" href="/2/hi/asia-pacific/8155426.stm">Attack waiting to happen? | |
He joked with journalists and smiled during the hearing, the French AFP news agency reported. | |
Asked outside the court whether he regretted his actions, he thought for a few seconds and replied: "Yes," AFP said. | |
In court, chief prosecutor Totok Bambang alleged that Mr Abdillah had helped plan the hotel bombings and had been part of a plot to assassinate Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. | |
Mr Abdillah is believed to have given information that led to the arrests of several other suspected terrorists, and two deadly raids in Central Java that killed four suspects. | |
The BBC's Karishma Vaswani says he is also believed to be the man who booked the room - number 1808 - in the JW Marriott where the bombs went off. | |
Police have killed six suspects and arrested more than a dozen others, including a Saudi citizen who is accused of helping to finance the bombings. | |
Malaysian-born Noordin Top was blamed for a string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia that killed more than 250 people. | Malaysian-born Noordin Top was blamed for a string of terrorist attacks in Indonesia that killed more than 250 people. |
INDONESIA ATTACKS Dec 2000 - Church bombings kill 19Oct 2002 - Bali attacks kill 202Dec 2002 - Sulawesi McDonald's blast kills threeAug 2003 - Jakarta Marriott Hotel bomb kills 12Sept 2004 - Bomb outside Australian embassy in JakartaSept 2005: Suicide attacks in Bali leave 23 dead, including bombers Indonesia braces for tourism blow Man Utd tour at risk Profile: Jemaah Islamiah | |
Indonesia suffered a number of bomb attacks - mainly linked to the militant group Jemaah Islamiah - in the first years of the century. | Indonesia suffered a number of bomb attacks - mainly linked to the militant group Jemaah Islamiah - in the first years of the century. |
The country of 240 million people has been praised in recent years for maintaining a pluralist democracy, while punishing Islamists behind a series of bombings. | The country of 240 million people has been praised in recent years for maintaining a pluralist democracy, while punishing Islamists behind a series of bombings. |
Attacks on two nightclubs in Bali in October 2002 killed 202 people, most of them Australian. | Attacks on two nightclubs in Bali in October 2002 killed 202 people, most of them Australian. |
The Marriott Hotel was the target of a bomb attack in August 2003 in which 12 people were killed. | |
Since then, a combination of new laws, anti-terror training, international co-operation and reintegration measures have kept Indonesia peaceful, analysts have said. | Since then, a combination of new laws, anti-terror training, international co-operation and reintegration measures have kept Indonesia peaceful, analysts have said. |
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